Partners Forever
by princesslissie13
Summary: Carmen Gray, a fifth year transfer student from the states,has been going to Hogwarts since she was 11.Draco Malfoy has hated her since the War ended, when they were both in their fourth years.Will the Partnering Project rekindle their friendship?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

**Summer, 1995**

I was gliding, gliding, through the air, as weightless as a feather. I had mastered the ability to fly, and now I could be airborne without a broom or some other means of levitation. I had my followers with me; tonight, we would finally, finally finish Harry Potter for good. I had carefully woven together my plan for years. Everything must be perfectly right for it to work. Everything that I had worked for during the last twenty or so years of my life had all come down to this one moment. That one second could be the complete turning point for myself, my followers, my non- followers. Everyone would be affected somehow by the events that occur on this night. It should have happened fourteen years ago, but something went horribly wrong. Now that I have my body back, and my army back, I can finally flush him out. For good. No more backfiring spells, no more avoidance of me. He would be finished. Tonight.

The burrow was looming in the distance, and through the windows, I could see people moving about inside, laughing, talking, being the social creatures they were. They would all have to die. Soon. We easily broke through their protective enchantments, them being weak and feeble. If I had any feelings left in my whatsoever, I would have been excited, perhaps a but nervous. But all I could feel was that cold, dead hatred that always came before a kill.

Something was wrong. I could sense it in the air, feel it in my heart. Something would go wrong. Maybe it was the way that my followers huddled to each other in nervousness. Maybe it was the way that even I was tense. Maybe it was in the way that Arthur Weasley peered out the window, suspicion written plainly across his face. But somehow I knew that tonight would most definitely be a major turning point.

"Go!" I hissed to Lucius, who hesitated for a moment before carefully aiming his wand at the door.

"Expulso!" Lucius shouted, pointing his wand at the door. The sound was similar to that of a bomb going off as the door cracked, but did not break. There were several screams from the other side of the door, and a great scuffle as those inside retrieved their wands.

"More force, Lucius! You're acting like you have the abilities of a two year old!" I screeched, my anger boiling over. I was seething. One of my Death Eaters, who has been performing magic since he could talk, can't cast a simple explosion spell?

The Death Eaters coiled back, away from my uncontrollable anger.

"EXPULSO!" Lucius bellowed, finally shattering the door. Once the smoke and dust cleared, I could see the tips of at least fifteen different wands pointing at our group.

An explosion of spells erupted from both parties. Brilliant flashes of light and color lit up the night sky as we battled to the death. I was dueling against three or four different witches and wizards, and had my hands quite full. So, I could have never prevented the green jet of light that came from behind. It hit me squarely in the back.

I was falling, falling down a dark hole. I didn't know who or what I was, where I was, or if I was even alive. I smashed into the ground (was it ground? Or something else…) facedown. I just laid there for a moment, assessing my surroundings, sensing for any slight movement. As I sat up, I realized that something was wrong. I felt, younger, more alive than I had felt in over 50 years. I glanced down at myself and gasped in shock. I was my former self. I looked like I was about 20 years old. I ran my hands over my head, which was previously bald. Now I had a full head of dark hair. I felt for my nose, that, instead of being two slits in the middle of my face, was now pointed, and fleshy, like a normal human nose should be.

"What has happened to me?" I wondered aloud. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard a voice respond.

"Well, Tom," a very warm, familiar voice chuckled, "I am not quite sure of the answer to that myself! I have a theory, though." Albus Dumbledore was standing before me, clothed in his usual floor length robes. The twinkle in his eyes behind his glasses was something I had never seen before directed at me.

"Dumbledore, you old fool. You have your stupid theories for everything, all of them involving _love." _I sneered, trying to cover up my shock. "Humor me. What is this theory of yours, then?"

"Ah, Tom. You mustn't act like that, especially around your elders. Now that you've passed on, one would think that you could learn proper respect." He said wisely, the twinkle fading slightly.

"You mean to say that I am dead? You fool, I can never die! I am immortal! My Horcruxes-"

"Your Horcruxes have all been destroyed. There is nothing left to keep you alive."

"What? That is impossible, or close to it. Did you-?" I sputtered, completely confused.

"Anything is possible, Tom. And no, I did not destroy all of the Horcruxes. I destroyed one. Harry Potter destroyed two. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger destroyed one each. And Neville Longbottom eliminated one, your snake, Nagini. You yourself, destroyed the last one, when you tried to take Harry Potter's life. That last Horcrux was latched onto Harry's soul. " he explained calmly. I tried to see into his mind, using Legimency, to see if he was telling the truth, but it didn't work. I couldn't make the connection.

"Tom, that is no longer possible, because you are dead. This is Hell." Dumbledore said, sensing my struggle.

"You old man, you think you have bested me? I can NEVER DIE! DO YOU HEAR ME? I AM IMMORTAL!" I bellowed at Dumbledore. With that, I ran, farther and farther until Albus Dumbledore was just a grey speck on the everlasting horizon of hell.


	2. Chapter One, An Awkward Encounter

**Chapter One, An Awkward Encounter**

**August 31, 1995**

**Draco POV**

"Draco, love! Hurry up! We're going to miss our Portkey!" My mother called up the to me from the foot of the starts. Finally, my last year at Hogwarts had come. I was sick of school, sick of classes, and most of all, sick of my life as a student. Ever since the Order of the Phoenix defeated the Dark Lord at the Weasley's house, my family and I have been looked down upon because we were known to support him. Rite Skeeter published an article on my family's involvement with the Dark Lord and on my father's arrest, and ever since it had come out in the papers, we were being avoided like the plague. Less people were willing to talk to me and spend time with their friends if I was going to be there. Less girls had been swooning over me than usual, which was definitely new. I mean, who wouldn't be drooling over such an angelic face as mine? Now, instead of confidence and swagger, all that I felt was loneliness and sadness. Everywhere that I went in the Wizarding world, I could feel hateful, angry eyes on my back. To tell the absolute truth, I had never really wanted to be a Death Eater, anyway. My father put me up to the job, nevertheless, and from the on I, was stuck in shoes that were not exactly my size, if you get my drift. I do have morals, contrary to what the majority of the Wizards think. I never wanted to be a killer, and I still have no desire to kill. But, like I said, its not like I had a choice.

I stuffed the last thing that I would need for school, Hogwarts, a History into my trunk and squeezed it shut. As I grabbed the trunk and the strap of my rucksack, I paused, my eyes catching on a glint of silver on the floor in front of me. I stooped down closer to it, examining what it was. It was a button, fallen off my winter coat. I sighed, but knowing my mother, it would be back on my coat in a matter of seconds.

"Mum," I said softly as I approached her. "This fell off my coat. Do you think that you could put it back on?" she examined the button and the coat that was draped over my arm.

"Yes, I think I can fix that. I'll just need a needle and some thread…"She trailed off distractedly, looking around the room for some.

"Uh… mum? What about your wand?" I asked her tentatively.

"What? Oh, yes! My wand! How could I have forgotten about that?" She gave a nervous laugh. Mum had been very forgetful and absent- minded ever since the Dark Lord had fallen and my father had been arrested. Whenever I asked her about it, she simply responded with 'Oh, I'm fine, love." or "You don't need to be worrying about me…". her excuses were not very believable, and, being the Slytherin I was, remained skeptical of her.

"Reparo." Mum said softly, and the button reattached itself to my coat. "All right then!" she clapped her hands together and looked back up at me. She literally had to look up at me because I was about four inches taller that her. "Let's be off!" She grabbed my arm and disapparated. I got the uncomfortable sensation of being squeezed through a tight, airless tube that had by now become familiar due to the constant apparating that we had been doing lately. I was still too young to apparate, only 15, so I had to have her apparate me whenever I wanted to go somewhere.

The silence of my house had been replaced with the bustling of the Muggle train station. I saw the pillar that we usually walked through to get to the platform some 50 paces away. I grabbed Mum's hand and pulled her in the direction of it, dragging my luggage with her. Looking all around us so that we would not be seen by Muggles, we simply fell through the pillar and into the Hogwarts Station.

The familiar sight of the Hogwarts Express brought back a million memories, as if a mental flood gate had opened and let my thoughts spill out to every corner of my brain. Pushing the nostalgias to the back of my mind, I turned to face my mother, who was staring at the wall, her eyes glazed over, remembering as well.

"Mother." I said quietly as I pulled her into a tight embrace. We broke apart quickly after. "I'll write to you at the first chance I get. I love you." I said.

"I'll miss you. Love you too, son. I will see you at Christmas break." Giving me one final smile, she departed, disappearing in a cloud of smoke. I sighed, lugging my bags to the wizard who was putting them away.

Hopping on the train, I scanned the corridors for any sign of my few Slytherin friends. Finally, I spotted Crabbe and Goyle lumbering down the narrow corridor.

"Oi! Crabbe!" I called, causing him to turn around. Locating where the sound of my voice came from, he gave a half-smile and waved awkwardly. I caught up with the two of them.

"Hey, Malfoy. How was your summer?" Goyle asked softly, his voice oddly mature sounding. It seemed that he had finally smartened up.

"Eh, not so good, mate. Too quiet around the house without our elves and father. I couldn't have any of you guys over for the summer because my mother was… well she's been having a hard time. You can understand that." I finished softly, looking at their faces for some signs of understanding. They nodded at me.

"I saw that awful article that Skeeter person published. Half of it was lies, and the other half was badly worded." Crabbe said, sounding irritated.

"I know, mate. It's awful. Now everywhere I go, I get dagger eyes from everybody." I paused, letting my train of thought to wander. "Do you guys remember Claudia?" I asked them. She was my old girlfriend, before the war. She was absolutely gaga over me, but as soon as she found out about my family's views on it, she completely ignored me.

"Yeah. Oh, god- you're not going out with her again, are you?" Crabbe asked, panicking slightly. Claudia scared him, and annoyed him, too.

I chuckled, remembering one particular instance when Claudia was right behind Crabbe, and he didn't know that she was there. She had laugher loudly at something, causing Crabbe to spin around and hex her. When she was revived, she almost bit his head off.

"No. but she was sending me letters. They were… weird. She kept asking me to hang out at her place… I made excuses, of course. But still…" I shuddered. The only reason why I went out with her in the first place was to get Pansy off my back. It worked, but as soon as she found out that we were split up, she resumed following my around everywhere I went and standing offensively close every time I stood up.

We stopped when we arrived at our compartment. We were actually pretty lucky to have found a compartment that was empty, because most of the students had already boarded the train. We plopped down on the long, cushioned benches in the compartment. Within five minutes, the train had begun its journey from the station to Hogwarts.

The three of us were in the middle of discussing the Quidditch World Cup that Goyle went top see over the summer when we were interrupted by a rap on the glass door. Standing on the other side of the glass was Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson.

"Oh god, hide me!" I squeaked at the sight of Pansy. I did not want to be bothered by the presence of that awful girl. Too late. She had already spotted me.

"Drakie! Did you miss me?" She exclaimed in a pitchy voice as she ran up to strangle me… I mean, hug me. I tried not to vomit at the sickly sweet tone that she had taken on over the summer. Maybe she thought it was seductive. Well, she was very wrong on that count.

"Hi, Pansy…" I said, not bothering to cover up how bummed out I was that she was here. Couldn't this girl take a hint? Apparently, she was very bad at reading people, because I had been giving her these little hints that her presence wasn't wanted for months, and her behavior stayed the same, if not gotten worse.

"What's wrong, Draco? Are you ill? Did you have a bad day?" She said. Still holding on to me. I shook her off a little roughly, and sat back down on the bench. There was an awkward silence as Pansy's question remained unanswered, the echo of her words suspended in the air like mist. Blaise cleared his throat loudly.

"Crabbe, Goyle. Glad to see you again." Blaise said loudly to cover up the awkwardness.

"Oh Blaise, it was great. I went to see the Quidditch World Cup! Ireland had the greatest win I've seen yet." Goyle said even louder, making wild gestures with his hands.

"Did you, now? I wish I had attended it, but we were in Egypt all summer." Blaise shouted. Pansy sighed loudly, realizing that I had absolutely no desire to talk to her. She flopped down on the seat across from me, crossing her arms tightly and glaring out the window.

"So, guys, have you heard about the partnering project?" I asked conversationally.

"Oh, god, mate… have you gotten all the details yet? It's supposed to be… very intense." Blaise breathed, as though he was afraid of being heard. We all leaned in closer so we could hear him.

"How so? Are we supposed to, like, live with our partners?" Pansy snorted, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"Well… yes." We all gasped, and then leaned in closer. Blaise continued, "You're required to sit next to your partner in every class. You have to do every project with that person, and, yes, Pansy, you have to share quarters. Oh, and I haven't even gotten to the best part, yet."

"What's the best part?" Crabbe asked excitedly. We all knew that by 'the best part', Blaise really meant the best part. We all held our breath, waiting for the answer.

"You have to get partnered with a girl, well, except for Pansy, who'se gonna have to get paired with a guy. And keep in mind that you're sharing _quarters_ with them." He said smugly, watching for the reactions we had.

Chuckles erupted from everyone's mouth, except for Pansy's, who looked downright horrified. All of the guys, myself included, were totally excited to share a bed with a girl.

"I wonder who we'll get, as a partner, I mean." Goyle said rather dreamily, picking at a string on his sleeve.

"Well… Cho wouldn't be too bad. Neither would Padma, though she's a Ravenclaw… that might not boil over too well 'cause she was Harry's mate…" I trailed off, glancing out the glass pane to the hallway, where I saw Carmen Gray walking by.

I had always thought that she was pretty, with her curly brown hair and her misty ocean eyes. She was very popular, I guess because of her quick wit and kind heart. It's also probably because she's from America. We stereotyped anyone who came from there a git, but I guess she proved us all wrong, because she's probably the best one out of all of us. She was a Gryffindor, though, and that had been the cause of our strained friendship. She really was a decent girl, but sometimes she was oversensitive and took things way too seriously. Especially things I said regarding Gryffindors in general, and mudbloods.

She caught me staring at her and gave a little half-wave and smile. I smirked back at her. Harry Potter, who she was walking with, started and touched her arm softly as he locked eyes with me. I snapped out of my very out-of-character daydream and my hatred for Potter returned, not that it had ever left, but had just been temporarily forgotten. I never looked at a Gryffindor like that. Never. Why was I looking at her like that? I threw my head in my hands in disgust. What was happening to me?


	3. Chapter Two, Carmen Eliza Gray

**Chapter 2, Carmen Eliza Gray**

**August 31, 1995**

**Carmen POV**

I absolutely hated airplanes. I despised them with every fiber of my being. I wasn't afraid of heights- I liked being up high and feeling the breeze lap at my hair. The things that terrified me were the complications that came with being in the plane, like getting lost up in the clouds, or landing in the ocean, or running out of fuel, or the plane breaking apart, or crashing and dying a fiery death. There were so many things that could go wrong while flying in a plane. Maybe that was the thing that I was afraid of- things going wrong. Whatever the real reason for the suffocating fear that closed itself around my windpipe and got lodged in my throat, it was there, and more real than ever before. I would have dreams about flying in a plane, and then having it crash into some deserted, uncharted island, never to be found again. I would wake up, shaking and covered in a cold sweat. But those were only dreams, illusions created by my overactive imagination. This was real. I was really about to get on a plane.

I gripped the handle on my trunk tightly with one hand and gripped my father's with the other. He winced slightly at my harsh grip.

"Carmen. Everything will be all right. I promise." Dad said as he pulled me aside from the flow of people heading into the tunnels leading out to the planes. I looked up from the carpeted floor to meet his concerned gaze. I forced a smile, failing to conceal the sheer terror that was mounted up inside me.

"Okay, Dad." I said, my voice only cracking a little.

"If you don't get on this plane, Carmen, then you won't be able to go-" I cut him off, having heard this lecture at least a dozen times over the summer before I returned to school. I had to get on that plane or I would get no education.

"I know, Dad." I sighed, running my hands through the tangled mess that I had to call my hair. I decided to change course, attempting to convince my brain that everything would be perfectly fine. "We'll be all right." I said brightly as I bent to pick up the trunk. My dad slung my backpack over his shoulders. He put his hand on my shoulder like he always did when he was leading me somewhere or didn't want to lose me.

We walked into the area where we had to drop off my trunk. We placed it onto the moving conveyor belt, and watched it until it was out of sight, probably being loaded into a little car that would then get placed into the belly of the plane. Dad nudged me, indicating to go back up the stairs. Once in the designated waiting area for our plane to get boarded, we saw the passengers already filing in the entrance to the plane. We followed.

As we walked along the narrow hallway, I pretended that it was just a normal hall, and that there was nothing but ground beneath my feet. It sort of helped. Only as we stepped into the plane did I feel the nausea creep up into my throat. I swallowed hard and kept my eyes focused on the ground. I tugged on my dad's hand and pulled him into the nearest seat available. I plopped down into it and closed my eyes.

Now would be a good time to tell you all a little about myself. My name is Carmen Eliza Gray. I come from a long line of royalty on my mother's side. My mom kept her surname and had all of her children given her surname, Gray, too. In England, our surname is very common, but respected. The reason why I'm not rolling in money right now (royal people are so lucky) is because of an incident that happened between my grandmother and my mom. They got into a fight over my mother running off with my father to marry, and then my mom got disowned. I have never met said grandmother, seen her picture, or heard anything whatsoever about her except that little nugget of information that I just told you. Anyway…

I am fifteen years old and live in Massachusetts. Although at the moment I seem completely ordinary, I really am totally different than most of my friends back home. I can do magic. I have a wand and a broom and everything. I even go to a special school for witches and wizards over in Europe called Hogwarts. Now, you may think that I have been going to this school for my whole life. You'd be wrong. Up until I was eleven, I had no clue that I was different from everybody else. I went to elementary school just like all of the kids in my neighborhood. Until then, I seemed like all the other little kids. I did have a tendency, when I was younger, to have things go my way and be good at getting revenge on people who ticked me off in mentally scarring ways, such as making them go completely bald, or causing boils to erupt all over their skin. But I had thought that these mishaps were just flukes, and that there wasn't anything really wrong with me. But as the bizarre 'flukes' continued more and more often, the intensity of the episodes increasing, I started to think I was losing a few marbles. My parents thought something was going on with me, too, and soon I was hooked up to see a therapist. Now, I was really scared, because I had some premonition about seeing one. I have premonitions about a lot of things.

*****FLASHBACK*****

_When we arrived at the therapist's office in our big, clunking minivan, we had a hard time finding a parking space. The office was located in a big mall, and since it was a hot, summer afternoon on a weekend, everyone was going to be either there, at the mall, or at the beach. It took us a decent fifteen minutes to park, and another fifteen to find the office on he large lit up map of the complex amidst all of the boutiques and shops. _

_The office was small and humid. There was a receptionist sitting behind a desk directly in front of us, with a tiny window behind her that was letting in what little breeze that summer day had to offer. My father cleared his throat, and the receptionist looked up._

"_Hi. We have an appointment with Dr. Mallory." He said softly, almost as though afraid of disturbing the quiet haze that had cast a spell on the day._

"_Okay. You're… Mr. Gray, right?" She asked in a thick southern accent. _

"_Yes." He responded quickly._

"_Okay, you're on the third door on the left, just down that hall." She said lazily, already refocused on her computer screen. _

_The six of us walked down the narrow hallway. When we reached the indicated door, we all filed into the empty room. It was painted a calming green color, and was filled with comfy-looking chairs and couches, and in one case, beanbags. Adam flopped into it and sighed obnoxiously. Kendall, his twin, sat down in the one closest to him. We waited for about five minutes, until a knock sounded on the door. It was opened gently, and we were met by an elderly man wearing robes that could have passed as a Halloween costume for a party. He had a long, white beard that reached his stomach, and half-moon glasses that made him look wise and slightly intimidating. But the twinkling of his bright blue eyes completely offset that intimidation factor. I could tell by the wrinkles on his face that he had laughed a lot and was a kind person. I wondered if there was a required retiring age for therapists, because he looked about a million years old. He was also very thin and tall._

"_Hello," He had said, "my name is Albus Dumbledore, and no, I am not your daughter's therapist. I am the headmaster of special school in Scotland called Hogwarts. I have come here in hopes of meeting Carmen, because I believe that she is a good candidate for my school."_

"_What kind of school?" My mother asked nervously, clutching my hand that was growing more and more clammy by the second._

"_My school is one of magic. Your child is gifted. She has magical blood running through her veins." He said, so collected, as my family started to freak out. My twin brothers, three years older than me, gasped in unison. My little sister looked up at me as though I had sprouted another eye, or something. My mother looked, well, she looked positively mortified. And extremely uneasy. My dad looked angry._

"_Is this some kind of joke?" He asked, or rather shrieked, at Mr. Dumbledore. But still, the old man did not lose his cool. It almost seemed like he was expecting everything to happen, like he had dealt with this sort of thing before._

"_Absolutely not. What kind of a cruel person would play a joke like that?" Then Professor Dumbledore's clear blue gaze locked with mine, and his eyes blazed with such sincerity and truth that I couldn't possibly have a doubt in my mind that he was telling the truth._

_I blinked. For months, I had thought that I was going crazy, and then this old man that looks like he would get swept away in the slightest gale comes to say that, no, I'm not crazy, I'm just magical. Then a question popped into my mind._

"_How many people are… like me?" I asked, wondering if maybe I was just a 'fluke'._

"_Oh, quite a few. At least 100,000... No… definitely more than that. At my school, there are currently 857 students enrolled. You are most definitely not a fluke, at least, not in the sense you're referring to." He finished, with that trademark twinkle in his eyes that I grew to know and love. Not in a romantic way, he's like 100 years old! But in a grandfatherly, mentor-y way._

_As he mentioned flukes, I wondered if he could read my mind. He had also sort of read my mind before, when I had first met him and thought that he was my therapist. I blew the thought aside, because at the moment, there were more important things to think about than mind-reading abilities._

"_Hold on, man, you said that this school is in Scotland? Isn't there a school closer to us than there?" My older brother, Adam, asked, jumping up off his beanbag. Kendall did the same._

"_Well, sir, Carmen has been selected as past of an overseas program designed to shake off feelings of angst about foreigners. There is a school in New England, in Salem, I believe, but because she had been chosen to take part in this program, she will be going to Europe. I believe that she has the disposition and the will to fit right in with the other students."_

"_Oh, well, you obviously haven't gotten to know her like we have, because she can sometimes be a little-" I cut him off, elbowing him sharply in the ribs. My mother shushed him. _

"_I'd love to go, Professor. It sounds like a good time." I said eagerly. Although my approval was stated, he looked to my parents for their opinions. It was my mother who decide to speak up. She looked like she had prepared this speech, like she had seen it coming. It looked almost as though she had come to this decision on her own._

"_Well, Mr. Dumbledore, I believe that it would be good for Carmen to do something like this. She has lived here her whole life, and the farthest away we've ever been from home is Maine. And, if you say that there is a logical explanation to her… outbursts, then I would be glad to help her in that way." My father, who had been opening and closing his mouth for the past few minutes in an attempt to say something, couldn't hold in his thoughts any longer._

"_Nora, these 'outbursts' have been anything but normal! None of her friends have these kinds of issues! No one we've ever met has mentioned anything about being magical! I think that this whole debacle is a bunch of garbage." My father exclaimed. _

_Don't get the wrong impression of my parents. My mom isn't some little waif who trembles in fear like a leaf in the breeze whenever something goes wrong. She is very assertive in areas where she feels that she can understand. My father isn't some raging drunk, either. He is a sweet man, and a good father. When he gets overwhelmed though, he tends to get a little irritated. Just like any other normal male specimen._

"_Pardon me, Mr. Gray, but there are still some key points that I have yet to explain that may ease your mind about the matter. Firstly, the reason why you haven't heard of any of this magic is due to the International Statue of Wizarding Secrecy." Dumbledore said politely. My brothers listened in earnestly. I could tell that they were fascinated by this new world that had been completely hidden from up until this point._

"_What's that?" Adam said, his eyes lit up like two amber suns._

"_That, my dear boy, is a law for wizards. It is designed to keep our entire wizarding race a secret from non-magical folk. It was proposed to keep both races safe, and out of each other's ways as much as possible." My father relaxed, now that it had been explained by Mr. Dumbledore._

*****END FLASHBACK*****

Soon after that, my parents accepted, and before I knew it, I was at King's Cross station with all of my shiny new magical school supplies, waving goodbye to my family. On the train, I met all of my classmates, and even made friends with some. I was very nervous about the sorting, though, because I wondered if I would not even get sorted into a house. I mean, none of the qualities mentioned resembled me at all. In the end, I wound up in Gryffindor, which I was pretty happy about, seeing as it was the best sounding out of all of the houses. Soon, I found myself at the top of my class, besides Hermione Granger. But she was in my house, and she was one of my good friends, so I didn't really mind. Speaking of friends, let me talk about them for a little bit.

Other than Hermione, I was also good friends with Ron, Harry, Neville, and Dean. Seamus and I don't get along so well, because we were together for two weeks in third year, but broke up because he annoyed me and I embarrassed him. His words, not mine.

Ginny, Ron's little sister, was another good friend. Even though she was a year below me, I liked her a lot because she wouldn't take crap from anybody, much like myself. Another person in Ginny's year that I liked was Luna Lovegood. She is a little spacey, but she is the sweetest, most kindhearted person that I've ever met. Ever.

Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil were sort of the drama queens. I was perfectly civil to them, and they liked me, but we just never got to be very close. I did get invited to a sleepover of theirs over the summer, and I did go, but made some excuse to go home early beforehand so that I wouldn't miss out on the party, but I would be able to escape sooner rather than later.

I was also friends with many people from other houses, like Hufflepuffs Hannah Abbott, Ernie Macmillan, and Ravenclaws Padma Patil, and Terry Boot. I even had some… acquaintances in Slytherin, such as Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle. Draco Malfoy and I were really close up until fourth year, best friends, even. I'll give you more on that later, but right now… things have happened to split us apart. Towards the end of fourth year, he started to hate me, and I don't know why. From the first day of school, he had been nice to me, offering me a seat next to him on the train. I hope that, over the summer he has gotten nicer, that the war has softened him up, because I miss… us.

The next three years after that first year were pretty much the equivalent of high school for muggles. In my second year, I got a position on the Gryffindor Quidditch team as Chaser. Since I joined to team, we won two Quidditch Cups. I remember the wild partied that we had in celebration…

There was lots of drama, boyfriends, and embarrassing pictures. But I survived those years in one piece, thankfully. I found myself at the top of the popularity chain, as well. I wasn't like a drama queen or a jerk, I was nice and polite and funny, and I think that's why I was up there in the first place.

This year, however, I have heard that many changed have been added to Hogwarts' curriculum. There has been talk about the Partnering Project, which sounds like, from Ginny's and Ron's descriptions, a dating service. A boy and a girl are paired up, and then they have to share a room, and sit next to each other, and work on every project with that designated person. With my luck, I'm destined to be with someone ugly or stupid.

Another major change is that the first dance in about thirty years is scheduled to happed before we leave for Christmas break, and one at the end of the year, after finals. I am very excited about them, because I already know that I'll be missing out on prom, and maybe I could consider these balls something like proms. My parents sent me with more money than usual to buy a dress for each one. Ginny and Hermione and I have already made plans to do dress shopping as soon as the date is announced.

My train of thought was interrupted by a nasally voice over the intercom. "Thank you for flying with Southwest Airlines. We will be landing momentarily. Please stay seated until the plane has come to a complete stop, and the red lights above your seats have come on."

"Yay! We're in London!" I exclaimed to my dad. He chuckled.

"You looked like you were asleep, Carmen. It wasn't so bad, was it?" Dad asked.

"No, it wasn't." I responded as I looked out the window. We were still rolling slowly, not to a complete stop yet. I reached for my bag that I had stashed under the seat earlier. I heard rustling noises around me as the red lights came on and people were reaching for their stuff and exiting the plane. My dad put his hand on my shoulder as we reached the end of the tunnel that led from the plane to the airport.

"Whoa. What's that?" I asked in alarm as my eyes found the large pillar that was planted firmly in the middle of the room, cracks jutting out of the ceiling where it touched.

"Oh, that? That's there to help support the roof. It caved in during the war… well, _your_ war. It was all over the news, even back home. Right in the middle of the day, people said that they saw fireworks, which I assume were spells, and then the roof caved in. Not like, completely smashed, but it got those nasty cracks. That thing's there until they can fix the roof completely." My dad said in undertones as we reached the rental car office. I was shocked that the Death Eaters would do something so unnecessary and ludicrous, but then again, they _were_ Death Eaters. They were ruthless wizards who lived to see people in pain that they caused.

While I was mulling that over in my mind, my dad was getting the keys to the rental car and filling out papers and such. Once that was done, he led me out to the parking lot, where he headed towards a blue Volkswagen Bug. I smiled at the sight of it. I had always wanted one to be my first car. But my dad had mumbled something about them being expensive and high maintenance. I looked at him in curiosity. He never liked Volkswagen, so why was he getting one for a rental?

"It was the cheapest thing here. Since we're only going to be here for a day, I figured that we didn't need anything lavish." He said with a guilty smile. We tossed my stuff into the back and pulled out of the parking lot. I fed the directions to Kings Cross to Dad as I tried to find a decent radio station. It was about a half hour drive to get there. Usually, the whole family came along and made a vacation out of it, staying for a week and then leaving the day after I got on the train. This year, however, my mother's uncle had passed away, and she took the rest of the family out to Maine, where the funeral was being held, while Dad and I went to get me on the train.

The station was smoky and crowded, I noted, as I scanned through the haze of people to find platform 9 ¾. I spotted the pillar that we were supposed to go to get on the train to Hogwarts.

"This way, Dad." I said to my father, who was looking about the place with a pleasant, interested expression on his face.

"You said that we had to go to platform 9 ¾. This platform ten." He said, confused.

"Watch this, Dad." I said, eager to show him how cool it was. I leaned against the pillar and all but my head fell through onto the other side. His eyes practically bugged out of his head. I quickly jumped back out, trying to not attract attention.

"That's how you get in?" He said weakly.

"Yep!" I responded brightly, tugging on his hand. We disappeared through the brick structure. When I opened my eyes, I saw the familiar station had materialized before my eyes. My dad had that pleasant, interested look on his face that I had seen earlier. He spotted the Weasleys.

"Hey, I see Mr. Weasley." he said as he pulled me over to them. I had friends over to my house during the summer, and the Weasleys were some of them. He had met all of the parents, and he especially liked Ginny's family. Maybe it was because Mr. Weasley was so curious about the things we used every day as Muggles.

"Arthur, Molly!" He called in a friendly way. I waved over to Ginny, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were huddled in a circle away from the group. They turned around and waved to us. Dad started to talk to Mr. Weasley about some thing or another, and I walked over to stand next to Ginny.

"Hey guys!" I said as I approached them. They all smiled in return.

"Carmen, I missed you at the summer party you had! Sorry I couldn't come, I was studying over in Australia, it was a wonderful time. But I feel bad I missed it." Hermione said as she linked arms with me.

"Ah, it's no problem. The invites were a little last minute." I responded. We all got caught up and just chatted for a few minutes until the whistle for the train shrieked at us. I ran over to my dad after promising to meet up with the group later.

"I gotta go, Dad. I'll see you next year!" I said to him.

"See you. Love you. Stay out of trouble!" he said in a very fatherly way as he embraced me.

"Okay. Love you too, and send the family my love!" I responded as he let me go. I gave one final wave as I clambered on the train, my bag on my shoulder and my owl in her cage, clasped firmly in my hand. I split away from the group as my shoe came untied. I set down my stuff and retied the shoe. I stood up and reached to grab Frog, my owl, a screeching, rasping voice made me shudder.

"Carmen! I missed you, love!" A familiar voice cooed behind me. _'Oh, God,'_ I thought,_ 'Please, not yet. I was having such a nice time. Why did he have to come back this year…'_ I mentally groaned. It was Jacob Rice, a fourth-year Slytherin.

"You look hot. Did you get my proposal? I was thinking a winter wedding, but whatever you would prefer is what I'd prefer, as well." Jacob sneered, wagging his hairy eyebrows at me.

I'll tell you a little bit about this lovely boy. He either has the biggest crush on me, or he's just being a jerk to me, I've figured out. Ever since the day I said hi to him in the hall. From that little instance, he seemed to think that I was madly in love with him, and hasn't stopped bothering me since that fateful day. I remembered one time when he tried to sneak up with me to the Gryffindor Tower, in an attempt to get me naked. Well, thank goodness for Harry, because he saw the little snitch following me and asked about him. I whirled around to find that ugly, pig-like face staring up at me, looking much like a deer in headlights at being caught in such a bad position.

*****FLASHBACK*****

"_AARGH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE! I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE!" I shrieked at him, probably spitting on him a little. Harry and I pointed our wands at him at the same time._

"_Get outta here, Jacob. You know that this isn't where you're supposed to be." Harry said in an assertive tone. He scampered away quickly. I looked at him in relief._

"_Thanks, Harry. He has been up my butt for the longest time." Harry chuckled and replied,_

"_It's no trouble. I didn't like him much, either, so it was actually kind of satisfying." Harry said with a grin. _

*****END FLASHBACK*****

Ever since then, Harry and I have had a connection that neither of us quite understands… like a sisterly-brotherly thing. He just can tell when I need some help, and I always know when he is lying to me. So as I was mentally cringing, Harry got the strangest shiver that ran down his spine that the both of us determined to be that… connection speaking to us. He excused himself from the group he was with and left. As he rounded the corned, he was face-to-face with Jacob. He looked no further than Jacob's piggy little eyes to know what was going on.

"Carmen, is this little snot giving you trouble?" He said politely to me while reaching for his wand. Jacob's face blanched at the sight of Harry. Harry frightened him.

"Um… yeah. He is. You know, it seems like our multitude of warnings have just gone in one ear and out the other. I think that he needs to be taught a lesson that he'll remember." I said in a sly tone while grinning at Harry.

"I agree." he said. We simultaneously lifted our wands at his face.

"Expelliarmus!" He said at the same time that I sent a bat-bogey hex at him. I caught his wand as he started to run away from his flying bogies.

"What do you think we should do with this?" I said, gesturing to Jacob's wand.

"Step on it." Harry said. There was a pause. "No, I'm just kidding. Just leave it there. If it gets broken, then it'll be his own fault because he was being an ass." Harry said.

"Oh, all right." I said as I dropped the wand on the floor. I normally would have felt bad about just leaving the wand there, but I really hated the kid, so it didn't bother me that much.

"So, what's new with you?" Harry asked conversationally.

"Eh, nothing much." I said.

He pulled me aside. I could tell that he didn't believe my lack of conversation. He thought that something was up. I avoided his familiar green eyes, looking everywhere but there. I glanced into the compartment behind his shoulder, where I saw none other than Draco Malfoy and his crew. As though he could sense my presence, he looked at me. Our eyes locked. I couldn't help but feel a little pang of hurt in the pit of my stomach as I met his stony eyes. I gave a pathetic half-wave and a smile, in hopes of hiding my hurt.

Harry noticed this little exchange, and did not look pleased. He then locked eyes with Draco. If his eyes could talk, they would be saying something along the lines of "back off" or "Get outta here". He then pulled on my arm and took me into an empty compartment.

"What was that? I thought you guys hated each other!" Harry said angrily.

"We do." I said as I looked away, trying to hide that still-present sadness.

"I'm sorry. I just… he's not a good person, Carmen. He's not good for you. I am glad that you two aren't friends. He was just bringing you down." Harry said.

"I know, Harry. You wouldn't hurt me on purpose." I said, instantly forgiving him.

"How about we find the compartment?" He offered.

"Sounds good." I said cheerfully, most of me happy to be seeing my friends again. But one little piece of me was still irked with that brief contact that I just had with Draco. It brought up questions that I had been trying to suppress ever since he first started ignoring me. Did he hate me? What had I done? Why won't he ever talk to me? And most importantly, Why does this hurt so bad?


	4. Chapter Three, The Partnering Project

**Note!** **The events of the seventh Harry Potter book took place when they were all still in fifth year, except that Dumbledore is still alive, and he successfully found and destroyed the Horcruxes. The battle of Hogwarts did not happen, because Dumbledore was still alive and he had already destroyed the other Horcruxes. **

**Chapter 3, The Partnering Project**

**September 1, 1995**

**Draco POV**

As the Hogwarts Express wound its way through the backwoods of Scotland, I was not as excited, or happy, as I normally would have been. Usually, the prospect of a brand new year, a fresh start was an attractive thought to me. In light of recent events, though, I was not excited with meeting up with the students of Hogwarts again. I did not want to see their reactions to my returning. I did not want people to stare at me in disgust because of the reputation that my parents had created for me. In truth, I just wanted to be back in my first year, where no one really had any idea of who I was, and what I was like. If I could redo that crucial year and make myself a more likeable person, I would. But that's just not possible. I sighed and rubbed my eyes.

"Hey, you okay, man? You seem stressed out. Is it Pansy, because, believe me, if I had to deal with her, I'd be a little stressed out, too." Blaise asked politely. He really was a good bloke.

"Eh. I'm stressed out, but not just because of her… although she is a large factor in it." I paused to share a grin with him. "I don't want to go back to school. Everyone will be hating on us, man, just because we're Slytherins. I guess it would be worse if you're a first year, though… I don't know. Maybe I'm just tired, or maybe I'm getting sick. I just don't feel like myself."

"Well… how do you feel?" I looked at Blaise for asking such an… out-of-character question. Normally, Blaise tended to not ask questions, only listen.

"Hey, it's what my mom asks me when I feel like crap. I talk with her about it, but afterwards, I feel loads better." He muttered, embarrassed.

"You're not exactly my mother, but I guess I'll play. I feel… nervous. Like I know that everyone's going to hate me as soon as I walk in those doors. And… heavy, like I've got some fat girl sitting on my shoulders. And I feel really tired, like I haven't slept in weeks, which I haven't." I finished as I looked out the window, at the moving landscape.

After a long pause as Blaise mulled over what I had said in his mind, he came up with something to say.

"To me, everything seems so much worse if you get all worked up about it. If you just… ignore those feelings, for me, it makes them go away. Like this stuff about how you think everyone's going to hate you. Who knows? Maybe they just won't care… or maybe they'll hate you, but be too nervous about what you'll do to them to show it. Whatever happens, mate, we'll all be going through it with you, because we're just as bad as you are… at least, in this situation." Blaise said with a huge smile. He was right; I did feel less apprehensive about everything, knowing that he was fighting the same battle I was.

The intercom buzzed just as he stopped talking, announcing that we had five minutes until the train arrived at Hogwarts. Blaise and I, as well as the rest of us in the compartment, began packing up our stuff, getting last-minute things done, and in Pansy's case, reapplying makeup. I rolled my eyes, seeing as no one here would have her. We all knew how annoying and mean she could be, and because we were all maturing in our tastes of girls, she wasn't so appealing to us as she had been a few years ago. Everyone began to file out the door, chatting happily, except for me. I double-checked my rucksack for the thing that my father had given me- his wand. He didn't want it broken, or stolen, while he was in prison. 'Excellent craftsmanship,' He had said as he eyed the wand in his hands, looking at it like it was the only thing that he had ever loved. I promised that I would keep it, and keep it well.

I stared at it for a moment, blinking back tears. I snapped myself out or my emotional issue. I was Draco Malfoy. I did not cry. Not when I was little, not now, not ever. I took a beep, composing breath and was back to my normal self.

Zipping up my bag, I padded out into the hallway, to see that it was empty. I walked briskly to the nearest exit, hoping that I wasn't late. I hopped out of the train and onto the almost empty platform. Only a few stragglers remained. Fearing being late, I started to jog to where the thestrals normally pulled the carriages into the school. It was cold out, so my ragged breath came out in little wisps of smoke. I reached the clearing, and my stomach practically dropped out of my stomach. They had left. There were no carriages waiting.

"Crap," I muttered under my breath. I was all alone, and didn't really know my way to the school. Just as I was starting to panic, I voice from somewhere behind me said,

"Aw, shoot!"

**CARMEN POV**

The train ride up to the school was a good one. I hung around with my usual Gryffindor crowd, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George. I was surprised that so many people could cram themselves into one cubical, but somehow we managed. First, we were just talking, catching up, but then George and Fred showed up and suggested a prank war. I thought that it was a brilliant idea, but Hermione and Ginny were uneasy.

"Aw, come on! It'll be fun! No one's gonna get hurt, I promise." I said, trying to convince them.

"Yeah, girls. It's nice to live a little!" George chimed in, winking at me.

"Well, you two have clearly lived a little," Ginny muttered. "I'll play, but only if you two don't team up and smother us."

"Yeah. You guys can't just go off on your own, you'll beat us easily and we won't even have a chance." Ron whined.

"All right, babies. How about… George, Harry, Hermione, and Luna against Ron, Ginny, Carmen, and I?" Fred proposed.

"That sounds fair. We're evenly matched." Hermione declared. With that, the epic battle of pranks began. George led his group to an empty compartment somewhere down the hall, while my group stayed put, drawing the blinds and closing the door.

"Muffliato." I muttered, pointing my wand at the door. Fred grinned at me, obviously impressed.

"Nice thinking. It's good to see that we're rubbing off on you a little." Fred said, his tone smug.

"All right. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, so I'm just gonna toss around a few ideas…" Ron said as he rubbed his neck. We all began to discuss tactics, with Fred occasionally prodding us in the right direction with things such as, "No, Ron that's stupid. They'll easily see it coming if we do that," or, "Are you kidding me? That's the most predictable move in the book!". We finally had our plan developed and were ready for… battle. Fred had a large supply of Puking Pastilles and Instant Peruvian Darkness Powder. He also suggested using some of his patented Wildfire Whiz bangs, but Ginny was concerned about how loud and dangerous they could be, so we decided to go against it.

Fred had hastily drawn a map of the corridor, along with the surrounding compartments. He had assigned each one of us to an inconspicuous nook or cranny where we could hide and unleash our pranking genius. Just as we were about to officially start the war, however, the intercom buzzed, announcing that we were almost at Hogwarts. At first, our reaction was to be irritated, but soon we all started to panic, because we had all of our stuff spread around the compartment, and had not yet changed into our robes. We began to rapidly pack up our things. I realized later that I had accidentally packed a pair of Harry's boxers in my rush to get out of the train.

I picked up my bag and started to leave, but then it spilled open, my stuff flying everywhere. "Shoot!" I muttered as I bent to pick everything up. Ginny and Hermione started to help me but I shooed them away, saying, "I don't want you guys to be late because of me. Go on, I'll catch up with you later!"

"All right. C'mon! let's go!" Hermione said, grabbing Ginny's hand. Five minutes later, I was almost all the way packed up. I zipped my bag up securely and ran out. I was shocked and panicked to see that the train was empty, and although not yet moving, it looked like it would get going soon.

I started to run in the direction of where the thestrals would usually take us up in carriages to the castle. I slowed to a walk as I found the clearing empty.

"Aw, shoot!" I exclaimed. I would have to walk up to the school. I would probably be late for the feast, and most definitely miss the sorting.

"AARGH! Where did you come from?" A cold voice screamed from somewhere in front of me. I looked around, panicked, searching for the source of the voice. My eyes landed in a tall, pale person standing directly in front of me that I hadn't noticed before. Draco Malfoy.

"W-Where did _you_ come from?" I stammered, suddenly nervous about being near him.

"Well, I've been here the whole time. You were the one that just popped up out of nowhere." He sneered, crossing his arms over his nice, clean oxford shirt.

"I came from the train, Malfoy," I retorted, crossing my arms as well. "What were you doing? Hiding from Pansy?"

He looked shocked that I had figured out how much he disliked Pansy. He quickly regained control.

"No. _I_ was doing things that are none of your business, Grey. Stop poking your nose where it doesn't belong." He quipped, his gray eyes reduced to slits as me gave me that trademark Malfoy smirk that I had grown to despise.

"Fine. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be late for the Feast. I'm leaving." With that, I stomped off in the direction of the school.

"Wait! You can't just leave me here!" Draco called from behind me. "I don't know the way to the school!"

"Give me one reason why I should help _you_." I said softly, turning to face him. "Considering the way that you just treated me, I'm not so keen on showing you the way to Hogwarts."

"Can you blame me? Any person in their right mind would be freaked out if someone sneaked up on them!" He cried, throwing his hands up into the cold air in anger.

"I wasn't trying to sneak up on you! I didn't even see you!" I bellowed, dropping my bag in case I would have to get violent.

"Oh, sure, little miss know- it- all! Everything that you say and do is right, and anyone who contradicts you is wrong and stupid! Stop arguing with me and just admit that you were tying to scare me!" He screeched.

"I am not a know-it-all! Ugh! I can't stand you! Why are you such an ass?" I screamed at him, stepping to him so that we were now nose to nose.

"Why are you such a brat?" Draco howled at me. I cringed back, suddenly sad and confused. I blinked back angry tears. Turning away so he couldn't see that I was crying, I gently picked up my bag and said stiffly,

"If you want to get to the school, you can follow me. I know the way."

He sighed, but followed me anyways. We walked in silence. I would occasionally trip, but catch myself. I could tell that he was holding back a laugh. After what seemed like an eternity, we could see the lights of Hogwarts.

"Thank God," I muttered under my breath.

"What?" Draco said.

"Nothing." I said quickly. I reached the door, and I tried to pull it open, to no avail.

"I can't get the door open." I said to him without turning to face him.

"Lemme try." He said, shoving me aside. He yanked on the door with all his strength, but it still remained shut.

"Wait… I have an idea. Move over." I said as I pulled out my wand. I pointed it at the door, took a deep breath, and-

"What on earth are you doing, Miss Grey?" An alarmed voice said behind me. I whirled around to be face-to-face with Professor McGonagall.

"Um… I'm trying to get the door open." I said, sounding foolish.

"Where were you this evening? You," She said strictly, pointing a finger at Draco, "Explain."

"I had to check something in my bag, you know, to make sure that it was there. It took a while to find it, and-" Professor McGonagall interrupted him.

"What thing?"

"Um… My Herbology textbook. I thought I had left it at home." He answered.

"All right. Go on." She said, after eyeing him like a hawk for a minute.

"It took a while to find the book, and by the time I knew that I had it and got my bag zipped up, everyone had gotten off the train. All the thestrals had left. I met up with her-" he jabbed his chin in my direction, "and we walked to the school."

"And why were you late, Miss Grey?" she said, now turning her cold gaze on me.

"My bag spilled when I was getting off the train, and I was late getting off. Like Draco said, there was no one else that I could see on the train. The thestrals were gone, and that's when we met up. In the clearing." I said, looking her right in the eye.

"Come along. You are to go to the Great Hall. You will wait in there, afterward, for me. All of the students in fifth year and up will be there for an important announcement. And yes, Mr. Malfoy, no points will be taken away because it was not yet the start of the school year. Now go." Professor said sternly. Malfoy breathed a sigh of relief next to me. She unlocked the door, and we ran inside.

When we got to the Great Hall, everyone was so busy eating that they didn't notice us arrive. I slipped onto the bench between Harry and Hermione.

"Where were you?" Harry hissed to me.

"I'll tell you later. I promise." I hissed back as I reached for some chocolate ice cream. Harry sighed, but did not say anything more. The rest of the mean was spent mainly listening to the group's conversations, not speaking much. After about ten minutes, Professor Dumbledore stood up. The hall fell into rapt silence.

"In light of recent events, there have been a few changes to Hogwarts. I will not go into too much detail, that is your teachers' job's. But, I would like each and every one of you to keep in mind that all of the changes are for the welfare of our wizarding race." He paused, " all students in year five or up are to remain here, with the exception of the prefects, who will take the first years up to their houses. With that, scamper off to bed."

There was a rush as everyone headed for the door. Once the room had been cleared, the remaining students broke out into a chatter. A loud clap echoed around the room, and we all fell into silence once more.

"Many of you have already heard about the Partnering Project, but for those of you who haven't, I will explain what the purpose of this exercise is." Professor McGonagall said. "This project is designed to bring together witches and wizards of different backgrounds, to reunite our kind because the war has driven us apart. Each one of you will receive an envelope tomorrow morning at breakfast. Inside that envelope is one name. That name will be your designated partner. This partner will be a boy if you're a girl and a girl if you're a boy. You will be rooming together, but _not sharing a bed_." She eyed the Weasley twins, who were getting wide grins.

"This partner will be your partner in every class project, will sit next to you in every class you have together. The object is to spend time with this person, and get to know them for the person they are, and not just for the rumors that have been circulating around them. I understand that, for many of you, this will be an emotional process, and it will not be easy sharing an apartment with someone that you barely know. For this reason, you are not required to move in with your partner until the day after the Halloween Ball, which will, of course, take place on Halloween night. Please keep in mind that this is not supposed to be a public affair, and that the younger grades are not to know until they participate in it themselves. If you tell, we will know." Professor Snape continued.

"Now, for tonight, you will be staying in your normal dormitories. But tomorrow, along with that name, you will be given a location and a password of where to move your things to. You are allowed to spend nights in either your newly assigned room or your respective Common Room, until the day after the ball. Then, you are required to move in with your partner." Professor McGonagall said with an irritated glance at Professor Snape for interrupting her.

"If you have any questions, you may report to the head of your house. Now, off with you all." Professor Dumbledore dismissed us. We all stood up and started for the door. Harry ran up to my side with an exasperated look on his face.

"Will you tell me what happened?" He asked softly, so that no one around us could hear.

"All right." I said. I launched into the story of what happened an hour earlier.

"Well, if he had to check something that could make him late for school, it must have been important." Harry concluded.

"I know. That's kind of what I was thinking. D'ya think that it could have been something that has to do with Voldemort?" I asked.

"I hope not. Voldemort's dead, and he better not have had another Horcrux that Dumbledore didn't find." Harry said apprehensively. By now, we had reached the Fat Lady, where students were still filing in. We followed them into the common room. We could both sense the tension between the older students at being assigned a partner. I split off from Harry after I bade him goodnight, and headed to my dormitory. Hermione, Lavender, and Parvarti were already there, obviously waiting for me. They exploded with questions as soon as I walked in.

I blinked in shock. I had never been so… acknowledged before. They had never really been that interested in me, except for Hermione, who was always a friend. I cleared my throat, unsure of what to say.

"Well? You've got some explaining to do." Lavender said as she propped her head on her hand.

"What do you want me to explain?" I asked.

"Why were you so late?" Parvarti asked with a slightly commanding tone in her voice.

"My bag spilled and I had to pick it all up. By the time I got out of the train, all the thestrals had left. So I had to walk." I said as I changed into my pajamas.

"Why was Draco late, too?" Hermione asked.

"Um… I think he was late in getting off the train. I don't really know why. All I knew was that he was in that clearing, too." I said a I pulled a shirt over my head. The whole room turned quiet.

"Were you two making out?" Lavender giggled, erasing the tense atmosphere immediately.

The rest of them were laughing along with her, except for me. I rolled my eyes, and responded,

"Never in a zillion years. Why would I kiss that oaf, anyways?"

**Please review! **


	5. Chapter Four, A Crappy Day

_**Chapter Four, A Crappy Day**_

_**September 2, 1995**_

_**DRACO POV**_

"_Oi! Mate, get up or you'll be late for your class! Let's go!" Blaise Zabini screeched at me as I rolled out of bed._

"_Man, what's the big rush? Geez…" I muttered to no one in particular. I was most definitely not a morning person, but apparently, Blaise was. I wondered absent-mindedly where Crabbe and Goyle were as I threw on my brand new robes and then entered the Slytherin Common Room with Blaise. Crabbe and Goyle were not there waiting for me like they usually were. It was odd, but I thought nothing of it._

_The atmosphere in the Great Hall was tense, you could almost feel the apprehension between people. They were nervous about the new year, nervous about the Partnering Project, nervous about taking their classes… I found myself looking at the Gryffindor table, more specifically at Carmen. I caught myself and looked away._

_We finally found where Crabbe and Goyle went off to. They were sitting at the Slytherin table, away from our usual spot, heads together, and for once in their lives, thinking hard. As soon as I sat down, two envelopes materialized on my plate. My heart began to thud as I realized what these envelopes contained. One had my class schedule, and the other had my partner. I looked at Blaise, who was staring at his envelopes like they had the plague on them._

"_Well… here goes nothing…" I muttered as I tore the smaller envelope open. Inside, there was a small piece of parchment._

_Partner: Carmen Grey_

_Quarters: The Clock Tower, Room 114_

_It took a moment for me to process the words that were printed on the parchment in front of me. Then realization hit me, like a rogue bludger. I was stuck with Carmen for a year. A whole year. Dread, anger, and a touch of something else that I couldn't identify stained my consciousness. I looked up, across the Great Hall to where Carmen was sitting chatting with Ginny Weasley. She obviously hadn't opened her envelope yet._

"_Who'd you get?" Blaise asked, his voice very faint and scared._

"_Carmen Grey. What about you?" I asked him, my voice a monotone._

"_I… uh… I got Lavender Brown." He said, uncomfortable. I snorted._

"_God, I hate this bloody project already!" I exclaimed._

"_Carmen's not so bad, mate. She's not bad looking, and she's a pretty decent-" I cut him off as my anger boiled over._

"_You don't understand. She hates me!" I said harshly as I slammed the card down on the table._

"_Well, can you blame her? You were a prick to her all of last year. You went from her best friend to her worst enemy." He said in a heated voice._

"_I had to! It was for her own good! If I didn't hate her, then she would have been in danger!" I exclaimed. I would also have been in danger, associating myself with a muggle-born. My father was furious when he found out what she was. It all fell apart when I was invited to spend Easter with her family tow years ago._

_I remembered when we got off the train together, I had seen her parents waiting for us, in jeans and t-shirts, common Muggle clothes. I had thought that it was odd, but dismissed the thought until we got in their car and drove to their house, and, upon arrival, I recognized the Muggle appliances- stovetops, electrical cords, telephones, and demanded to be brought home immediately. I didn't explain the real reason for wanting to leave so suddenly, just made up something about a sore stomach. Carmen tried to get me to tell her why I was so upset, but I refused. I really thought that all of her Muggle stuff was cool, but I had been raised to hate it. If I had stayed, my parents would have owled me about what they were like and I would have had to tell them at some point. So, I left._

_I spent the Easter holidays at my own house. Upon my arrival, my father had some choice words for me, along with a beating, having found out about Carmen. It wasn't very different from usual, though, I was beat by my father all the time, for little things, like talking to Mudbloods, behaving differently in public places… lots of stuff._

_Carmen sent me owls almost every day, asking why I left. I never responded. In classes, I sat with my Slytherin friends instead of her. I avoided her in the halls, and when I saw her I would pretend that I didn't know her. Eventually, Carmen got the message and we hadn't spoken in a friendly way since._

"_If you were so against everything, then why didn't you do something?" Blaise exploded at me._

"_Blaise, you don't understand. My father would have killed me, then killed her. She would have been hurt if I stayed friends with her." I explained to him. He sighed. _

"_Mate, I don't know why I even was friends with you. All you care about is yourself. This rubbish about Carmen is lies." He said as he stood up and left. I was now irritated. He just didn't get it. Nobody did anymore._

_Violently, I tore open the envelope to consult my schedule. I needed to know where to be for my next class. Herbology with the Ravenclaws. I scanned the rest of the schedule for any periods with Gryffindors. There were three, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and History of Magic. 'Great. Just great. I have to spend three whole classes with the Gryffindors… and I have to sit with Carmen, too.' _I thought as I stuffed the schedule back in my bag. I muttered the password to the Common Room (traitor) and headed up to my dormitory. The Common Room was completely empty except for myself, most likely everyone was at breakfast, gossiping about my outburst. I didn't care what they said about me. It's not like I have never been talked about before… I just ignore them and soon it goes away.

I shoved all the books that I would need to use before lunch into my bag. I checked the watch around my wrist and saw that I would be late to class if I didn't hurry to the greenhouses. I closed my trunk, picked up my rucksack, and zipped out of the dormitory. I gave it a fleeting glance, knowing that this would be one of the last times that I would see it for the year.

Everyone was waiting outside the greenhouse when I arrived. I almost slipped and fell over on the dewy, morning grass. Summer was still in session this late in the year, yet most of the students were huddled together, looking downcast at being back at school. I waited for Crabbe and Goyle to join me, but they stayed over on the other side of the wall of people, chatting amicably with Blaise. Remembering our fight this morning, I did not go over to join them. I didn't really know who I could talk to while we were waiting, so I just stood awkwardly, away from the pack, and gazed longingly at my old friends. _'You really screwed up this time, Draco. You need to learn to watch your temper, because now you've lost the only friends that you had any hopes of keeping. If only Carmen and I…"_ I mentally trailed off. Even if Carmen were here, she wouldn't want to talk to me. So, either way, she couldn't help me here. Finally, Professor Sprout let us into the dirt-smelling greenhouse.

As usual, there were two long tables that ran down the middle of the greenhouse. They were covered in plastic tablecloths and pots and shovels, just as I remembered it from fourth-year. Only one difference became apparent, and that was that there were far fewer plants here than last year. I vaguely remembered from the battle of Hogwarts having a plant pot of some sorts crash on Goyle's head. They had been used in defending Hogwarts Castle.

I took out One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi and started to sit down when I head a call from the other end of the table. 

"Oi! Malfoy! Where's your lot? Did they finally realize that you stink more than a pile of dragon dung?" Ron Weasely said dangerously. I honestly didn't have the energy to answer him. It wasn't worth my concern. All the same, he looked triumphant that he had me alone and vulnerable. Blaise looked up at this, and so did Pansy.

"He could say the same thing about you, Weasely!" Pansy squealed from the other end of the room. Harry, Carmen, and Hermione, who had been talking, stopped their conversation and glanced up at me, as if questioning me about what had set her off. I didn't meet their eyes.

"Oh, yeah? I'm the one that stinks, now, eh?" Ron said, his voice eerily calm. "At least _I_ didn't side with a group of murderers. Don't you get it, Parkinson? No one will ever take you seriously anymore because of what you and the people you associate yourselves with did." Ron's eyes flicked pointedly in my direction.

Pansy's eyes bulged, and the whole room fell silent. The war had been sort of a forbidden subject to talk about, let alone use it against someone publicly. I felt my own face blanch. I had tried to forget that whole year of my life, because I now see that I was wrong. I know that all wizard blood is the same, no matter how long the family history if it goes back. I had known it all along, but I never had the guts to say it to my father, who would have probably beaten me senseless. Although I did see that everyone's blood was equal, that didn't make me want to be any nicer to anyone. I was mad at them, mad for them getting my father arrested, mad because they looked at me differently, mad because they didn't understand why I was the way I was.

"Weasely and Parkinson! Detention! I was under the impression that this whole debacle was behind us." A very breathless sounding Professor Sprout said as she entered the room. Pansy glared daggers at Ron, and Ron swore profusely under his breath. The class began to whisper to each other.

During the class period, we were asked to re-pot Mandrakes, something that we had covered in Second Year. "To prepare you for your O.W.L.s!" Professor Sprout had said as we started to protest. She had also made us work with our partners, which was very uncomfortable. Carmen and I didn't get anything done because we were too busy glaring daggers at each other and flinching whenever our arms accidentally brushed or our hands bumped. So, not surprisingly, the class emerged from the class irritated and a little sweaty, as the Mandrakes were very fussy and didn't like the pots that we had to stuff them in. As soon as we set foot outside the classroom, Carmen and I darted off in opposite directions, eager to be rid of each other.

The next class I had was Transfiguration, which I had a natural aptitude for. The class flew by like a summer breeze, partly because I was so good at it, and partly because we were covering things that we had done in fourth year. Before I knew it, I was stuck again with the Gryffindors in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

We crowded in the classroom and started to take our seats when we heard a low, gravelly voice. 

"Don't take your seats just yet, I have a seating chart for you!" We all turned to locate where the voice was coming from. A man who looked to be about 60 years old, with graying hair and beard stubble, was standing on the stairs with a piece of parchment in one hand and a textbook in the other. He quickly strode up to the front of the room while we waited awkwardly in the back of the room.

"Well, well… you all are the sixth years, I suppose? Gryffindors and Slytherins? I am Professor Dwight, by the way." He addressed us. We all nodded, in unison. "All right then… Ah, yes. I have some special plans for you all today. But first, a seating chart! Don't give me that look, Mr. Finnigan, I have been given this by Professor Dumbledore, so I am not the bad guy in this scenario."

We all waited anxiously for one more second while he rustled around in a folder to get the chart. "All right," He repeated as he walked to the front left table. 

"Here will be…" He consulted his chart. "Mr. Finnigan and Miss Parkinson." He rapped the table once with his knuckles before he moved to the front middle table.

"This table belongs to Mr. Ronald Weasley and Miss Olivia Hudson." He declared, nodding his head at the table. Ron looked incredulously at him before slowly collecting his things to move next to the dark-haired Slytherin. Olivia was a nice girl, but had a temper that was dangerously unpredictable. One minute she would be smiling and laughing, the next with her wand at your throat, threatening to hex your head off.

"Dean Thomas and Estella Rogers, right here." The two moved to their assigned table, the right table in the middle row, looking much more happy than Finnigan and Pansy. Estella was a redheaded Slytherin that was… well, she was not a very nice person. "She always wears too much makeup and probably only uses push-up bras." Carmen once told me when we were gossip ping about our fellow classmen. I couldn't help but feel a bit bad for Dean. You would have to be extremely patient and durable to stand a whole year with Estella, seeing as he was her partner.

"This table…" The professor glanced at his chart, "Mr. Crabbe and Miss Patil." Parvarti gave a nauseated glare at the teacher before reluctantly moving to her designated seat in the left table in the middle row. She scooted her chair as far away from a hurt-looking Crabbe as she could.

Professor Slughorn moved to the middle table in the middle row and placed two fingers on it. "Mr. Malfoy and Miss Grey, here." I tried to wipe the disgusted look off my face as a mortified Carmen gingerly sat down to my left. She didn't scoot away from me like Parvarti had done to Crabbe, but simply sat there with her head on her propped up hands, looking everywhere but at me. As the professor seated the rest of the students, I was spacing out. I was tired. I did not get any sleep the night before, and I felt like I was going to pass out. Slumping back in my seat, I crossed my arms over my chest and closed my eyes. I drifted off somewhere between sleep and consciousness as the rest of the class was seated. Faintly, I could hear someone speaking, but tried to ignore it.

A sharp jab in the stomach woke me up. My eyes popped open and I jerked up in my chair. I wildly looked around to see who had poked me. My eyes landed on Carmen's hand, hanging awkwardly in the air. She stuffed it back in her lap and focused her eyes back to the front of the classroom. I made a face before turning to watch the teacher, too.

"The Patronus Charm is a very advanced bit of magic, and few adult wizards can do it properly. It is used to ward off Dementors using sort of a positive force. Because Dementors suck the happy out of you. That is why I will be teaching you." Professor Dwight was saying. He continued. "You will need to evoke a happy, powerful memory. It will need to be powerful so that your Patronus it powerful. Let's see… Miss Grey, will you join me up at the front of the classroom, m'dear?"

Carmen blinked, then stood up shakily, looking thoroughly confused. She walked to the front of the classroom and stood next to Professor Dwight.

"All right. Now… close your eyes. Think of a happy memory. Think hard on it, think on how you felt when this particular memory occurred. Allow it to fill you up inside, let yourself feel that powerful feeling in your chest." He murmured to her as he paced in a circle around her. After a moment, a smile tugged unconsciously at the edges of her lips.

"Have you got it?" He asked in an undertone. She nodded. 

"Keeping that feeling inside you, I want you to repeat after me the words 'Expecto Patronum". Can you do that for me?" He asked her in a soft voice that a father might use with their daughter. The whole class had their eyes glued on Carmen now, watching to see what would happen.

"Expecto Patronum." She said softly, her eyes still closed.

"Louder. Say it with purpose, with feeling." He encouraged her.

"Expecto Patronum." She said, her voice echoing forcefully around the room.

"Much, much better. Now, raise your wand, and point it at me. Good, good." He said as she aimer her wand at him.

"Now, repeat that incantation, focusing all of your energy on that memory. Go on, go on. Ignore your classmates. Just say it." He said as she looked at the class.

"Expecto Patronum." She said with little force.

"Say it again. Be proud!" He said loudly. She grinned, then tried again.

"Expecto Patronum!" She said, well rather yelled. A silvery mountain lion burst from the tip of her wand, illuminating the room with its glowing body. It skipped playfully around the room, leaving a glimmering trail behind itself as it went. I glanced back to the front of the room, where Carmen stood, grinning, in awe of the glittering creature. Professor Dwight looked, well he looked positively astounded. As the mountain lion faded, the class burst into applause, myself included.

"Very, exceptionally, well done! That was fantastic! I have never, in all of my years, seen a teenager produce a Patronus that full- in- form." He said as he clapped her on the back. Carmen looked at Harry Potter, who was grinning like an idiot at her.

"Harry can do one." She said as the class silenced itself. Professor Dwight scanned around the room. 

"Harry, you say? Harry Potter? By all means, boy, do come up here and show us!" He said eagerly as he indicated to Carmen to sit down. She plopped back down in her chair next to me, still grinning.

"Well done." I muttered to her, slightly deflated that she could perform the piece of magic so well. She turned to face me, still smiling.

"Thanks. I just feel… so happy right now! Like… the opposite of how a Dementor makes you feel. I guess that's what I'm supposed to feel like, though." She gushed to me. I half-smiled back at her politely and put a finger over my lips. I did not want a detention for talking to her on my first day back. She nodded at me and turned back to the front of the room, focusing on Harry doing his Patronus. It took a moment to realize that I just had a civil conversation with Carmen and actually enjoyed it, however short it was.

With the exception of Defense Against the Dark Arts, the classes were boring and unproductive. Although they were boring, all of the teachers gave us homework. My bag was heavy with the weight of every book that I owned as I trudged down the stairs. I was going to drop off my bag in the common room before dinner so that I wouldn't have to carry it with me. I had just gotten to the dungeons when I hear that mischievous cackling that could only mean one thing. Peeves. 

I sped up my pace, hoping to outrun him. It was stupid of me, because everyone knows that you can't outrun a ghost.

"Oi! Malfoy! Wandering about the dungeons, I see." Peeves' annoying voice said as it drew closer to me.

"I'm just going to the common room." I said coldly as I kept on walking.

"You know, this will be the last time you see it, because you will have to room with Grey for the rest of the year!" He giggled as he swooped in front of me. 

"How do you know about that?" I asked him, my voice dangerously low.

"I have my sources." he said slyly as he slid through the wall. The old Draco would have run after him, demanding to know who his 'sources' were, but the new Draco just did not have the energy. The new Draco just trudged off to his common room, dropped off his bag, and walked back up to the feast. The old Draco was dead and gone, the Draco that judged people and made snide comments about anyone who tacked him off. People just didn't see that the new Draco was here, the Draco that just didn't have the energy to care.


	6. Chapter Five, Attacked

_**Chapter Five, Attacked**_

_**September 16, 1995**_

_**Carmen POV**_

_No class, ever, in the history of the wizarding world was as boring as Professor Binns'. I had been laying facedown on the desk for the past forty-five minutes, half asleep and half awake. The half of me that was awake was trying to concentrate on what he was saying, which was difficult because I was so dazed with hunger that all I thought of was food. When I got hungry, I would, much like a man, get agitated and fidgety. That was how I felt at the moment._

_So, there I was, a puddle of sleep and hunger in Professor Binns' class. To add to my misery, I just so happened to be sitting next to Draco Malfoy (stupid assigned seats), who had been ignoring me all day. I was not in my happy place in that moment. I picked my head up and looked around. I glanced across the rows of tables at Hermione and watched her take notes, her quill swishing around rapidly as she tried to keep up with Professor Binns' droning monotone. I smiled softly to myself. Hermione was such a good student, and although I was a good student too, Hermione took her studious attitude to the extreme sometimes. I mean, when would we ever need to remember details about the Goblin Rebellion of 1612, other than on an exam?_

_I looked away at Hermione and latched my blank gaze on Harry, who was sword-fighting Ron with his quill. He looked up and saw me. He grinned apologetically, almost as if apologizing for goofing off when he knew that he should be taking notes or something. I grinned back at him, hoping to tell him with my eyes that I hated the class too, and that I was not mad at him in the slightest. He nodded, shot me another grin, and resumed his duel with Ron. Harry and I had some sort of… understanding with each other. We just knew each other so well._

_I set my head back down on the desk after I checked the clock on the wall to my left. Still five minutes to go. I heard Draco scoff quietly beside me as he scooted even farther away from me. Yeah, well, buddy, you're no catch, either._ I thought angrily. I knew that he didn't like me. I had been overly aware of the fact for some time. Why did he feel the need to constantly remind me of how much he hated me? I already knew. I already did everything I could to avoid him.

I heard the scraping of chairs around me as the other students stood up to leave the class. I opened my eyes, grabbed my book and wand, and jumped up eagerly. We all filed out of the class quickly, eager to be out of the stifling classroom. Draco was right behind me, to my dismay. I sped up, eager to be away from him, only to run into another Slytherin that I hated. Before I had a chance to escape, I heard those scuffling, heavy footsteps behind me that I had grown to recognize after hearing it so much. Jacob Rice. I quickened my pace.

"Oi! Grey! Wait up!" Rice called as he struggled to keep up with me.

"Whaddya want?" I grumbled angrily.

"You." He said. I felt a hot flash of anger flare up inside me.

"Well, you're never going to have me, that's for sure." I said stubbornly, keeping my head down as I tried to walk as quickly as possible without getting yelled at for running.

"Oh? And what exactly makes you so sure?" He sneered at me. I turned abruptly to face him. He stopped running and came to a screeching halt just inches before he collided with me.

"What makes me so sure? Well, a bunch of reasons. Number one, you're an ugly git. Number two, you've treated me so badly in the time that I have had the misfortune to know you that I wouldn't date you even if you were nice-looking. Number three, I can't go out with you even if I wanted to because the partnering project forbids it. Shall I continue?" I said in a sickly sweet voice that even I was surprised to hear roll from my lips. I continued fiercely as my temper rose. Jacob said nothing, but I could sense him shrinking back away from me. All of a sudden, as unexpected as a flash flood, I lost control of my temper.

"You've been stalking me since forever ago, you show up when I least want to see you, not that I've ever felt a strong desire to see you _at all_, you don't seem to take no for an answer when I refuse your numerous proposals and dates. I hate you for it! Why won't you take no for an answer?" I rattled off angrily.

"What- Why, I never- Filthy little-" He rambled, obviously shocked that I had stood up for myself. Before, I would have tried to let things like this go, because they weren't important. But it felt _good_ to get back at him in whatever little way that I could, so I let myself hiss at him. I turned around to walk away when a word that made my blood run cold was muttered behind me.

"Imperio!"

I felt the light, free, completely happy sensation that I had associated with the Imperius curse. I had learned of it in Defense Against the Dark Arts class a week previously, but I was shocked that someone who had never officially learned the curse- as he was a year behind me- could perform it successfully. I was brought back to Earth when a raspy voice echoed from the recesses of my mind.

"_Kiss me. Now. Do it, Grey!" _Jacob's voice hissed angrily from somewhere inside my head. I felt the sudden urge to walk to him, to embrace him, to kiss him. But part of me, the part that was still in control of my own body, was not having that.

"_Never. You can't make me." _I mentally snarled at him, with some effort.

"_You will obey me, Grey."_ Jacob said, his mental voice calm, yet commanding. _"Now, come here and kiss me!"_

"_No. I won't."_ I thought. I would not be beaten by him, never. I clenched my teeth together in an attempt to stay in control of my body. I could feel the curse weakening, slowly, as a product of fighting it.

"Kiss me. Now! Kiss. Me. Right. Now. Do it!" He screamed, verbally now. I could hear his footsteps advancing closer behind me. Then I felt the blow of his fist colliding with my head, knocking me forward onto my face. I heard a sickening crack as my nose started to bleed. It was as though someone had slashed a hose, except that the blood was where the water would have been, and the hose was a big blood vessel.

"You bloody little wench. That's what you get for disobeying me." He sneered as he knelt beside my bloody face that was currently laying on the cold stone floor. Quick as a whip, I snapped out my arm to smack him across the face, too. If anything, I would get the last blow.

"ARRGH! YOU FILTHY MUDBLOOD! HOW DARE YOU!" He screeched as he staggered, unbalanced, and fell on his butt. I started to laugh, despite the pain that I was in, at the loud thump he made as he fell on the floor.

"That tears it. Petrificus totalus!" He yelled as he pointed his wand directly in my face. I felt all of my limbs bind together as he leaned over my face, triumphant that he had got me in a position in which I could not fight back. I struggled to move as he scooted closer to me. I needed to escape. _'Get the last blow.'_ I thought fleetingly as he got even closer to my frozen body. I spit in his face, since the muscles in my lips and jaw were the only ones that I was still able to move. He wiped it off with one hand as he held his wand with the other. He waved his wand, and I watched his mouth move, but could not hear anything. I was slowly slipping out of consciousness from loss of blood. I was falling, falling, swirling around and around. I heard yelling voices and saw faint flashing colors before my world went blank.

Light. There was too much light. It was in my eyes, turning the backs of my eyelids red. I didn't want to open my eyes. I was too tired, and my eyelids were too heavy. I heavily rolled over onto my stomach, and was surprised to feel the edge of the mattress beneath me. The bed was so small that I was already slipping off it. With a sudden jolt, I sat up and opened my eyes. I was in the Hospital Wing. I felt a twinge of pain in my head from the sudden movement. I reached up to feel it and found a bandage wrapped around my forehead. I furrowed my brows in confusion. Why was I in the Hospital Wing? Why was my head wrapped up?

"Oh, good. You're awake. I need to give you this." Madam Pomfrey said as she emerged from her office, a dark glass bottle in her hand. I groaned. I could smell the foul medicine from across the room. It smelled like burnt plastic.

"Oh, I'm feeling much better now, Madam Pomfrey, I really don't think that medicine is necessary, you see, I only banged up my head a little bit-" I started to say before she cut me off by sticking a spoonful of the gunk into my mouth, not even bothering to respond to my arguing. I could feel my face scrunch up in disgust. It tasted worse than it smelled. I swallowed thickly. My mouth now tasted metallic and sour, like how it tastes after you puke.

"What is that?" I asked her, sounding a little agitated.

"It's to help heal up that nasty cut across your face. Have you felt anything yet?" She replied as she started to take off the bandage that was wrapped around my head like a turban.

"Are you talking about the one up here?" I asked her as I pointed to the turban. She chuckled.

"I'll take that as a no, you didn't feel anything. You have a huge cut across your face, darling. It was done by magic meant to make the cut never heal, but the caster of the spell was probably weak in his enchantments, because it is starting to heal up anyways." She explained.

"Oh." I said as I gingerly patted my face. I realized that the entire right side of my face was numb. "Can I look at it?" I asked her.

"Sure." She said as she picked up a mirror from the bedside table.

I held the mirror up to my face. Sure enough, there was a wide, deep gash that ran from my cheekbone to my jaw. It was a brilliant, angry red in the center, and along the outer edges it was a sickly purple.

"Woah! That's _so cool_!" I said as I examined my face. "But… why is it purple?" I asked her.

"That was because of the magic. The magic caused your skin to turn purple." She said as she brushed some stray hairs away from my face.

"Will my face be purple forever?" I asked her nervously. I did not want my face to be permanently dyed purple.

"No, no. When the cut heals, the purple will go away." She assured me.

"Oh good. Harry would never let me hear the end of it. Purple face…" I trailed off as I suddenly began to feel sleepy. The second that I hit the pillow I was asleep.

When I woke up again, I remembered where I was and how I got there. Also, I knew that I was feeling so much better than I had been before. It was also very loud, unlike the serene silence that I woke up to previously. It sounded like there were people around me talking, but I couldn't make out the words. I laid there, my eyes closed, trying to listen to their conversation.

"How is she?" A male's voice asked, low and quiet.

"She's getting better." A woman responded. "You should have seen her yesterday. Her whole face was purple." With a jolt, I realized that the woman was Ginny and the male was Harry. My eyes flickered open.

"Carmen!" Ginny said breathlessly as she wrapped me in a gentle, yet firm embrace.

"Feeling better?" Harry asked after Ginny released me.

"A little." I said as I sat up straighter. I looked around to see a small mob of people huddled around my sickbed. Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Neville and Luna were there. I grinned, feeling warm inside knowing that all these people were worried about me. I felt so lucky to have so many people who loved me, and who cared about me. With a sudden rush of emotion, tears pushed out of my eyes and fell down my face.

"I love you guys." I said affectionately as I spread my arms for a group hug. The group laughed. As I sat there in the hospital wing, my head wrapped with bandages and my arms filled with people I loved and who loved me just as much, I knew that I was blessed. I felt at home when I was surrounded with these people. Loved. And I loved it.


	7. Chapter Six, A Shady Deal

**Chapter Six, A Shady Deal**

**September 23, 1995**

**Carmen POV**

"Well, Miss Grey, you are free to go." Madam Pomfery said to me after a torturous week spent in the hospital.

"Thank you." I said. "For… you know… taking care of me."

"Not at all, my dear." She replied. "It is my job, you see."

I grinned as I waved her a goodbye. I stepped outside the doors of the Hospital Wing. I was free! I was so happy to be out of the Hospital wing. I made a mental note to get injured less often. I practically skipped to the Gryffindor common room.

"Infiniti Corpalis," I said cheerfully to the Fat Lady. She swung her portrait open to reveal the scarlet-clad living space that I called home for the past five years. The minute my foot stepped inside the room, I was completely ambushed.

"Carmen!" Ginny squealed as she threw her arms around my shoulders. I jumped, startled, then remembered the basics of a hug and hugged her back. .

"I missed you so much!" Ginny said into my hair. I was slightly embarrassed.

"I was only gone for a week, Gin." I muttered as she released me. "And you came to see me while I was out of classes, anyway."

"I know, but I only just realized how absolutely _boring_ it is without you around." She said, flashing me a smile.

"Yeah, mate," Ron said, coming up from behind Ginny. "It was just so… quiet. It was rather odd, really."

I laughed. Quiet? I didn't know that I was loud enough to make people notice a silence when I wasn't there.

"Oi! Gray! Get your injured arse over here!" George screamed from the other side of the common room. I chuckled darkly. Fred and _only_ Fred was allowed to speak to me like that. Anyone else and they would find their head in a toilet faster than they could say "Moaning Myrtle".

"I think your brother needs me." I said to Ginny and Ron, rolling my eyes. I made my way across the room to where George was standing, arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the wall.

"My arse isn't injured anymore, Fred." I said as I approached him.

"A good thing, too. We all know what a pity it would be to lose such an amazing arse as yours." I gasped and elbowed him in the ribs, hard.

"Ah! Joking, Gray! I was joking!" He groaned, massaging his sore ribs.

"I would hope so!" I said in a scolding tone. Fred nodded and straightened.

"There was a reason why I called you over here." He said, changing the subject quickly. He continued. "Carmen, I have some news that I'm quite sure will brighten your day considerably."

"Oh! Tell me! I would always like to hear good news!" I said.

"Well, Georgie here and I-" He gestured to his twin who suddenly appeared over his twin's shoulder "- we have a proposition for you." I narrowed my eyes. A 'proposition' with Fred and George Weasley was a dangerous thing to accept.

"I would like to hear the details of this agreement." I said cautiously, yet firmly.

"Fair enough. Fred and I, well, we need something. This thing we believe that you may be able to retrieve for us." George started.

"What it this 'thing'? " I asked. "It is potentially dangerous? What will you use this object for?"

"Ah, George, she knows us too well." Fred said, shaking his head endearingly at me.

"Answer the questions!" I barked. The twins jumped, but recovered quickly.

"We need a single hair off your pretty little head. You see, the two of us made a bet with Lee Jordan that we could obtain a certain, ah, object from a certain person. Thing is, we can't get this object if this person knows that it's us that wants this thing." George said.

"You follow?" Fred asked.

"…yes. I understand. You need to steal something and need your identity concealed to do it." I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Yes! And, well, everybody trusts you, Carmen, so if I was to pose as you, say, to get this thing, it would be much more easily done than if I showed my identity-" George encouraged.

"Because nobody in their right mind would trust you two." I finished.

"Exactly." The twins said simultaneously. I giggled, rolling my eyes.

"Okay, but you still have questions." I said, suspicious. This deal was looking more and more shady every minute. "What do you need to steal?"

"Er… we need… a bra." Fred said lamely. I quirked a brow.

"Really! We do!" George said. He lowered his voice. "We made a bet with Lee that we would get Angelina Johnson's bra. If we get this bra, he'll pay us fifty Galleons." I quirked the other brow, unconvinced.

"Look, you don't even have to do the dirty work. We're not asking _you _to sneak up to Johnson's room and steal a bra, you won't even be involved from this minute forth." Fred said, his previously calm voice now strained.

"What if 'I' am caught in her room, holding one of her bras and laughing madly?" I questioned.

"First off, you won't be caught. Second, I wouldn't laugh like a madman as I held up one of her bras for all the world to see. That would totally blow my cover. Third, to ease your mind, we'll tell her that it's really us if we get caught, and than you did not willingly give us one of your hairs." Fred rattled off, counting off on his fingers.

"Okay, but why do you need one of my hairs?" I asked, fingering a few strands nervously.

"Polyjuice Potion." Fred said.

"Ah. I see." I sighed. I loved these guys too much to deny them anything as harmless as a hair, and the both of them knew it. "All right, Orange. But if word gets out that I was spotted in Angelina's dorm with a bra…" I said menacingly.

"You'll kill us. We know." George assured me. I sighed as I reached back and pulled out a curly, long, brown hair from my head. Their faces lit up as George reached over to carefully pull the hair out of my grasp.

"Wait! Before you go, I want something now from the two of you. I'm not going to let you get off so easy." I said, grinning wickedly as a plan formed in my head. The twins groaned at the same time.

"What is it?" Fred asked wearily. My grin widened.

"I want a bit of the Polyjuice potion, but without the hair added yet." George grimaced at my request. Fred sighed. But they both stuck out their hands to shake.

"It's a deal," The twins said simultaneously.

"Wow, you guys are good at that." I commented.

"Thanks." Their voices responded in unison. I caught myself just before I was going to shake Fred's hand. "Wait." I said. Fred's hand froze.

"What do you want?" He said, hesitating.

"We're making a deal the American way." I declared as I spit in my hand, sticking it out to shake. The twins' faces lit up.

"All right. This is why we like you so much, Gray." George said enthusiastically. The twins each spit in their own hands. Our hands connected with a satisfying 'squelch' as the deal was sealed.

**October 22, 1995**

"Hey Harry?" I asked hesitatingly as I approached him. He was sitting in front of the fireplace in the Gryffindor Common Room with his back facing me, staring lasers into a piece of parchment. He jumped and attempted to his the parchment from view as he turned around.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing to the parchment. I had momentarily forgotten my reason for coming to see him. Harry blushed. I knew him so well that I could tell this parchment was something secret, than he did not want me to know about. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water, searching for the right words.

"Come on, Harry. Why are you hiding that from me?" I prodded him. He sighed as he pulled the parchment out from behind him.

"It's a map," He said as he unfolded it. It looked ancient. "It shows you where people are in the castle." I leaned in to look closer at it.

"See those two dots right there?" he asked, pointing to a circle labeled 'Gryffindor Common Room'.

"Yeah. Wait, is that us?" I questioned, amazed by this map. The two dots were labeled as 'Harry Potter' and 'Carmen Gray'.

"Yes. Pretty cool, huh? Fred and George gave it to me. Said that they nicked it out of one of Filch's drawers back in first year."

"Yeah, cool." I said, transfixed by the seemingly ordinary piece of parchment. I refocused on the task ahead. "Harry, I need to ask a huge favor of you."

"Sure. What do you need?" I loved how easily Harry trusted me. He knew that nine times out of ten, the thing that I needed from him would be used for a good cause. This thing that I needed from his, however, was not used for a good cause. Not at all.

"Um… I need to borrow your invisibility cloak." I said as I wrung my hands.

"Sure. Do you need it right now?" He said easily.

"Um, yes, I do." I said.

"Okay. I'll be right back." Harry said with a smile, and with that, he turned and jogged up to the boys' dormitories.

I had been so nervous that he could see right through me before I had asked to borrow the Cloak, and see that what I was going to use his cloak for was not a good cause. But he didn't. He, like everybody else, believed that I was still recovering from the attempted rape and assault that had happened over a month ago. I was… mostly fine. I didn't get nightmares or anything, for that matter, I wasn't really afraid of Jacob Rice. I was mad at him. On several occasions, my friends had to physically restrain me when I saw Jacob Rice in the halls after his suspension from the school was over.

"Here." Harry was back, extending his arm towards me, a silvery substance in his hand. I took it from him.

"Thanks! I'll try not to spill it on anything." I joked. I was infamous for spilling things amongst my friends and family. He chuckled behind me fondly.

"Yeah, I hope you don't. Then it wouldn't be invisible anymore!" He called as I shut the portrait hole behind me. I flipped the cloak over me and became completely invisible. I was on a mission. A mission that could potentially change everything.

I wound my way to the Slytherin Common Room in the dungeons at about 1PM, which was my free period, following an unsuspecting pair or Second years, clad in green and silver striped ties. As I stalked the pair, I noticed a significant drop in temperature as we descended numerous flights of stairs. I struggles to keep my teeth from trembling, as that would have blown my cover. I didn't want the boys to notice that there was something following them.

The boys took a sharp left and I found myself facing a wall.

"Bloody Baron." The shorter of the two boys said to the wall, and to my shock, the wall slid aside to reveal a passageway. I made a mental note of this password as I followed the boys down the hallway silently. It was a short passage. As I stepped out of it and into the Slytherin Common Room, I took in everything I saw in a brief moment. There was a murky, green lighting that cast the whole room in an eerie greenish glow. It was cold, and I was surprised that I wasn't seeing my own breath hanging in midair. The furniture was upholstered with black leather, and the stone tile floor was partially hidden by green and silver rugs. The Slytherin crest hung above every fireplace and doorframe. It was overall a spooky room. I stayed frozen in place as my eyes followed where the boys went. They trudged up a staircase on the left side of the room. I pried my eyes off them as I examined the room.

Pansy Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle were sitting on a couch, talking quietly. I group of third and fourth years were doing their homework at a large white marble table. Another posse of first years were sitting near the fireplace, shuddering with the col. I scanned the room for any signs of my soon-to-be-victim. He wasn't there. I mentally sighed, seeing as there was no other choice. I would have to go up into the boys' dorms to try and find Malfoy. I hoped that they were clean.

I climbed up the stairs, carefully examining the plate on every door, FIRST YEARS, SECOND YEARS, THIRD YEARS… I climbed two more short flights of stairs and stopped when I was a gleaming silver plate that read FIFTH YEARS. Heart pumping ad hands sweating, I put my ear up to the door, listening to any voices. There were none. Still apprehensive, I performed a complex spell with lots of arm movement. I could see a hole slowly seeping through the brick wall next to the door. The spell allowed people on the outside of a wall or door to look inside, but people on the inside could still not see out. So, if there was anybody in the room, they would still not know that someone was trying to see in their dorm.

I peeked in the hole, which was now about the size of a large textbook. All the beds were empty, and no one was sitting in any of the chairs or window seats. The coast was clear! I slipped inside the room, but not before lifting the charm on the wall. I quickly scanned the beds and under them, too, to make sure no one was in the room. No one was. I felt for the vial of potion tucked away in my pants pocket. It was still there.

I reviewed my plan in my head. _1. Find the Slytherin Common Room. 2. Get in and find Malfoy! 3. Get him alone. 4. Stun him and pluck out one of his hairs. 5. Put the hairs in the Polyjuice Potion and take it quickly. 6. Stun Malfoy again (for good measure) and cover him with the Cloak. 7. Lock him in a confined space where no one will find him for a while. (make sure to take back the cloak) 8. Make sure that Ginny has told Professor McGonogall that I- I mean, Carmen- went to see Professor Hagrid for some consoling, as I was still feeling sad about the 'incident' a month ago. 9. Parade around as Malfoy and do stupid things, while also getting revenge on that bloody, stupid, pig-faced, arrogant, selfish, ugly Jacob Rice. ._

Just as I thought the last step, I heard footsteps outside the room. I checked myself to make sure I was completely covered. The door flew open, and a very disgruntled Draco Malfoy clambered inside. He sat down on his bed and loosened his tie. I could tell that he was very stressed about something as he kicked off his shoes and laid facedown on the bed. He set his schoolbag beside him on the bed, as he brought his hands up to his face, which was buried in the pillow. I noticed how soft and silky his platinum hail looked, and how his broad shoulders must be very strong before focusing on the task ahead. Still covered by that lovely Invisibility cloak, I pointed my wand at the center of his back.

"_Stupefy_." I said softly. Poor Draco didn't even have time to look up as the spell hit him square in the back. Wand at the ready, I inched forward to make sure that he was really stunned. I hesitantly poked him in the back, hard. He didn't jerk, twitch, nothing. With a smile of relief plastered on my face that of course no one would see, I ripped out a few hairs from his head with a little more force than necessary. I popped open the vial that held the potion and put the hairs in it. I watched as it turned a pleasant aquamarine color. _'Who would've thought that his Polyjuice Potion would look so edible?' _Knowing that I had maybe only seconds left before someone decided to look for Malfoy, I downed the potion in one gulp. My face wrinkled in disgust._ 'It obviously doesn't taste as good as it looks.' _, I thought.It tasted like a very rotten green grape, mixed with the lovely taste of burnt plastic. Instantaneously, I felt my skin begin to bubble and quiver. I shot upwards about seven inches and lost my lovely brown tresses. Suddenly, the transformation stopped. I didn't feel my skin quivering anymore, nor did I feel like I was growing anymore. I kept the cloak on as I gathered some of Malfoy's clothes from the drawers nest to his bed.

Changing under the cloak quickly, I aimed another stunning spell that hit him right in the head. I added a 'Pertificus Totalus' for good measure, as well. When I had completely changed out of my clothes, I stuffed them Malfoy's bag, which was still laying on the bed next to him. I snatched his wand out from his pocket and put it in my own pocket. I put my own wand in Malfoy's bag. I removed the cloak from my body and placed it on Malfoy, who was still frozen, and would be for a while. I glanced at myself in the mirror, and saw that I looked exactly like Malfoy. I could even do the trademark Malfoy smirk, which felt very foreign. Still looking in the mirror, I stuck my front teeth out and smiled in a goofy and very un-Malfoy-like way. I giggled as I looked at the reflection. I practiced my Malfoy-walk one more time (Ginny, who had been a co-conspirator in this evil plan, had helped me perfect the walk and the talk o that I could play the part of Malfoy convincingly) and was pleased to see that it looked exactly like how he walked. Pleased with myself, I levitated Malfoy, with the Invisibility cloak still covering him, down the stairs and out of the common room. I lowered my wand hand by my side inconspicuously as I walked so that it did not look like I was casting a spell. No one paid me any allention, or even looked up as I passed. As soon as I was out of the common room and in the hallway, I stared to run. I turned out into the hallway and walked through the entrance-wall-thing like it wasn't there and continued running until I found a broom closet. By now Malfoy was starting to stir, and I hurriedly shoved him inside and locked the door, and I also performed a spell on the door to make it un-lockable by any other person than myself.

"H-Hey! Where am I?" I heard Malfoy sleepily ask from behind the door. Then, much more frantically, "Am… am I in a broom closet? Let me out! Let me out RIGHT NOW! Is anyone there? LET ME OUT!" I decided that now would be a good time to act.

"_Muffilato_." I muttered, pointing my wand at the door. The noise and banging sounds immediately ceased. Satisfied, I walked away. _"Let the fun begin." _I thought evilly.


	8. Chapter Seven, A Day as Malfoy

**Chapter Seven, A Day as Malfoy**

**October 22, 1995**

**Carmen POV**

I checked my watch as I walked away from the now silent broom closet. I had about ten minutes before Malfoy's next class, which was Herbology, I discovered after I found his schedule. _'Hmm… Since Rice isn't in this class, I guess I could tackle the other item on my list. How can I get Malfoy in trouble in Herbology? Maybe I could knock over a pot of Mandrakes, or shove Pansy Parkinson into a carnivorous plant…'_ I mused to myself. There were two objectives that I was to achieve while in Malfoy's body. 1. I needed to get Malfoy in as much trouble as I could while the Polyjuice Potion lasted, and 2. I needed to get some revenge on that idiot, Jacob Rice. _'Oh, yeah buddy, payback's a bitch.'_ I thought as I shoved the schedule back in my bag. In the over a month that had passed since he had tried to rape me, I had grown less and less sad and more and more angry. I had devised about twenty ways to kill that little pig while I was in the Hospital Wing alone. I certainly wouldn't want to kill him, because that would land me in a load of trouble. _'Maybe I could switch around a spell or two so he doesn't end up dead, just seriously maimed.' _I thought, amused. Getting Malfoy in trouble was really just a bonus, the main goal here was to get revenge on Rice. After all, out of the two Slytherins, I hated Rice the most by far. But that didn't mean that I _liked_ Malfoy, not by any stretch of the imagination. He was a jerk. And I did not like him. Not at all. Nope. I didn't like him. So don't even go there with me. Right? Right.

One thing that had shocked me was Malfoy's reaction to the whole debacle. When he heard that Rice had assaulted his _beloved _partner, Malfoy had started being nicer to me. I know, shocking, right? Maybe it was just me, but it did seem like he changed his attitude a tiny bit. He was still a total jerk, though. But still… Malfoy being nice? It seemed weird to me. Maybe he realized that the whole year would go along much more smoothly if he stopped picking on me. There was this one instance where Malfoy truly was starting to scare me, though…

***FLASHBACK***

"_Hey, Gray," Malfoy called to me from across the room. We had decided to check out our new living quarters in the Clock Tower. "Check this out!"_

"_What is it, Malfoy?" I asked wearily. We had only been together for about five minutes checking out this place, and I already felt drained just by being with him for that long. Malfoy was pointing to a large and comfy-looking window seat. It was covered with green and red pillows. So far, the whole apartment was decorated in similar colors. I reckoned that the colors had to do with our houses. Red for Gryffindor and green for Slytherin._

"_Oh, cool!" I really loved window seats. I plopped down in it and shut my eyes, snuggling up to a particularly fluffy green pillow._

"_Well, the window seat wasn't what I was talking about, Gray, but I guess that is rather nice." He said, and just by the tone of his voice, I could tell that he was smirking. I pulled my face out of the pillow and looked at him curiously._

"_What were you referring to, then?" I asked._

"_Look out the window." He said, pointing at it. Obediently, I looked, and nearly gasped. Our window had an amazing view of the lake. The sun was just setting, and the whole lake was reflecting the sun's orange-pinkish glow. The sun was framed between two mountains. The giant squid was lazily flopping about its' tentacles in the lake. The whole view was totally breathtaking._

"_That's one damn view." I said, turning back somewhat reluctantly to face Malfoy. As I turned, his eyes quickly flickered away from something. It looked like he had been watching my reaction intently. His eyes were now focused on the window._

"_Yeah." He said. "One damn view."_

***END FLASHBACK***

So, the question is, was Malfoy staring at me? Or was he looking at something else? Or was I imagining the whole incident? Does Malfoy even care? Hmm…

Well, that little encounter was one of many. He had been acting… odd lately. He had been a little bit more civil to me, and all of my friends, for that matter. Even Luna, who can be a kind of odd around people. _'Ah, well. Regardless of how civil the Ferret's been lately, he still deserves a detention or two, for being a prick.'_ I found myself in front of the greenhouses, waiting for class to begin.

"Oi! Malfoy!" Someone was calling. It took me a moment to realize that they were trying to get my- I mean, Malfoy's- attention. I quickly turned around. Blaise Zabini was waving to me- I mean Malfoy- from the top of the hill. I waved back. Oops- _Malfoy_ waved back. But then I remembered not to be too friendly, and quickly put my hand down. Blaise clambered down the hill and stopped when he was a few feet away from me.

"Hey, Blaise. What'd you want?" I asked in my best Malfoy drawl. I hope that it was convincing, and was relieved to see Blaise respond without any suspicious glares at me.

"Well, I wanted to know if you were going to the Halloween Ball. They're going to be selling tickets in two days, but of course, your tickets'll be free if you go with your assigned partner, as I, um, told you at lunch." He filled me in. I noticed that he sounded a little uncomfortable, like he was guilty about something. Then I realized what he said. This was news to me. I didn't know that if you went with your partner, you didn't have to pay for the tickets. _'Well, I'll tell Blaise that Malfoy will be going with me, and that way, I won't have to pay for my ticket and Malfoy won't get a chance to object.'_

"Blaise, are you in charge of selling the tickets?" I asked him.

"Yes, I am. Didn't I just tell you than at lunch?" He glanced oddly at me. _'Shoot.'_ I thought. I needed to act as much like the real Malfoy as I could- cocky and arrogant. Seemingly forgetting things was totally out-of-character.

"Oh. Er.. Yeah. You did." I said. I thought that that sounded too nice for Malfoy, so I decided to jerk it up a little bit. "Why? Are you accusing me of something?" I demanded.

"Oh, no, Malfoy, it's just that I thought that you'd remember that after what happened at lunch." Blaise said nervously, taking a step back and anxiously wringing his hands. "I'm sorry, dude. It was out-of-line for me to say that I thought that you were in love with Carmen. It also wasn't cool that I shouted it to the rest of the Great Hall. I know that life's not easy for you right now, because of all the complications that the War has brought on you and your family."

I blinked in shock. What was this whole apology about? What did Malfoy do? What happened? And, most importantly, how is a Slytherin capable of saying such a sincere apology? _'He looks like he really means it.' _I thought. Trying to be as Malfoy-like as possible, yet not getting Malfoy into another fight with Blaise, since it seemed like they'd already had an issue today, I said,

"Oh. Yeah. Sure, mate. It's all cool." I said, trying not to sound as confused as I was feeling. Blaise smiled, his whole face lighting up.

"So, two tickets, you said?" He asked me as he pulled two tickets out from a pocket of his bag.

"Yeah." I said. "Thanks."

"No problem." He said, smiling again as he walked off to the Herbology greenhouse, which was now open. I watched as the students filed out of the classroom while other students waited in a huddle away from the door to go in. _'Maybe I should forget about getting Malfoy in trouble.' _I thought, feeling a little guilty for planning to do something bad to him. _'It seems like he's having a pretty bad day.'_

()

**Draco POV**

I hated Charms class. Worst class ever. Don't ask me why I hate it so much; I don't even know. It was just… annoying. I don't know. Maybe I hate it because I'm no good at it. Or maybe because it seems like such an easy class. But anyways, whenever I leave that classroom, I'm usually in a crappy mood. So it was a relief to get out of the classroom when the class ended.

I bee lined it for the Great Hall. I was hungry and cranky. I sat down at my usual place, next to Blaise. Crabbe and Goyle weren't talking to me, still. It seemed like the only people would talk to me nicely were Blaise and Carmen. _'And of course her friends, because they always had to be bloody perfect in everything they ever did.' _I thought angrily, glaring over at the Gryffindor table. I was still a little ticked off about being in Charms, as you can see.

"So, mate, wasn't Charms stupid?" Blaise asked me when I sat down. He hated Charms as much as I did.

"Extremely. Honestly, will we ever even use the spells that we learn in there? They seem like charms to use for when you're bored and alone." I said, putting my bag on the floor beneath the bench.

"You know, Draco, the tickets for the Halloween Ball are going on official sale in two days, but if you tell me what you want now, and pay, I can give you them early. I am in charge of selling those tickets." Blaise said.

"Why would you willingly do something like that? I would thing that kind of thing would be torture!" I said, amazed and a little shocked.

"I didn't. It was either sell tickets for the Ball or polish trophies with Filch on the night of." He explained. I could understand, now, why he chose to sell the tickets. "So, do you want any?"

"Oh, sure. I'd like one. It's not like I'll have anything better to do, anyway." I said as I started rifling through my bag for a few spare coins. Blaise put a hand over mine.

"Dude, if you go with your partner, your tickets are free." He said.

"Really? Hmm…" I said as I pulled my hand out of my bag. I had to think about this. Would I rather pay the ten Galleons for a ticket, or get my ticket for free but have to go with Carmen? Maybe I could just get the tickets together and then just arrive at the Ball with her and call it good. I mean, we did _go_ together. I made up my mind.

"All right. I'll go with Carmen. But I want my tickets _now_." I said evenly after a pause. Blaise smiled an evil smile.

"You're getting a ticket for Carmen?" Blaise said. "I thought that you hated her, man. Oh, Draco's got a crush! Draco's fallen in love! Widdle Dwaco woooves his widdle Carmen!" Blaise said at a much louder volume. Everyone at the Slytherin table looked up. I took Blaise by the scruff of his neck and lifted him a few inches off the ground. Since blaise was a good six inches shorter than me, and because I was so tall, this was not difficult to do.

"You listen here, Zabini." I spat at him. He looked like he could piss his pants any second now, he was so scared. "I do not have a crush on Carmen. Next time that you go around saying stuff like that, I'm going to kick your ass so hard you'll land in the States."

"Man, you are so in love." Blaise said, his voice muffled because I was clutching him by the throat. That did it. My anger boiled over.

"I don't love her! I'm trying to be nice to her because I know that if I don't, she'll kick my ass! Being nice to her is simply about surviving the year, and then getting out of here! It's got nothing to do with loving her! What will it take to get that in your thick, stupid head? What the hell is bloody _wrong_ with you, Zabini! I HATE you!" I shrieked. Then I dropped him and felt a small bit of satisfaction at the loud thump that his body made as it crashed to the floor. I stormed up to the Slytherin Common Room, not knowing where else to go. I was so mad. How dare he just assume that I'm in love with someone just because I decide to be civil to them? How dare he? It's a long way from the Great Hall to the Slytherin Common Room, and by the time I got to the wall behind which our common room was concealed, I had cooled off . But was still pissed at Blaise for announcing to the whole Great Hall that I was in love with her. I _didn't _love her. I was just trying to make being stuck with Carmen for a whole year a little less painful, is all. I was being nice so that she would leave me _alone_. Right? Right.

By now I had reached the wall. "Bloody Baron." I spat at it. The wall slid aside, and I thundered don the corridor and into the Common Room. I didn't stop as I wound up the stairs to my dormitory and yanked open the door. I went straight to my bed and flopped down on it. I loosened my tie out of habit, and took off my shoes, as well. Then I flipped over and buried my face in my pillow. I was tired. I was upset. And I just wanted a few minutes alone.

"_Stupefy_." A voice muttered from behind me. Before I had time to think, the spell hit me square in the back, and spread quickly over my entire body, leaving numbness in its wake. I felt unconsciousness pulling me down, beckoning to me with its' arms outstretched. I didn't fight the sensation, and I was passed out in a matter of seconds.

()

When I woke up, the first thing that I noticed was how dark it was. The next thing was that it smelled like some sort of cleaning product.

"H-Hey!" I tried to say, still groggy with sleep. "Where am I?" Then I blinked. My eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness, and I could faintly see the dark silhouette of a broom handle. Then everything clicked into place. I knew where I was. The broom. The darkness. The smell.

"Am… am I in a broom closet?" I asked no one in particular. I stood up and felt around for a doorknob. My fingers latched around the cold metal, and I tried to twist it. It didn't open. I started to bang on the door.

"Let me out! Let me out RIGHT NOW! Is anyone there? LET ME OUT!" I screamed, fists pounding angrily on the door. I began to panic. I was locked in a broom closet. How would I get out?

"_Muffilato_." A voice says from the other side of the door. It sounded oddly familiar. It was a female voice, I was sure of that… I stopped banging on the door, knowing that it was no use. The spell muffled all noise, so no one would hear me, no matter how loud I was screaming. I sat back down on the stone floor and tried to think of a way to get out.

I was sure of a few things. The door was locked my magic, so it would not budge if I tried to unlock it by force. Wait… locked my magic… my wand! I have a wand! I can unlock the door by magic! I stuck my hand in my pocket, searching for the smooth piece of wood that would be my savior. '_Hmm… it's not here.' _I thought as I stuck my hand in my other pocket. It wasn't in my other pocket. _'Where the hell is it?'_ I thought, more panic and irritation clouding my focus. I patted myself down frantically, searching nervously for my wand. After about a minute of this, I decided that my wand was not on my person. I got down on my hands and knees and felt on the floor. Nothing. Just dirt and stone. _'Damn it!'_ I cursed. My wand was my ticket out of this closet. And now it was gone. Then I realized: my attacker took it with them. They saw my bag where I left it on the bed next to me and figured that it had important stuff in it. My eyes now adjusted to the pitch darkness, I could see a broom next to me, leaning up against the wall. I turned around and saw a dim outline of a few shelves with various cleaning products. There was a bucket on the floor near the broom. I turned it over and sat down on it. I realized that I would be stuck here until someone came along and let me out. '_Well, now I'll have lots of time alone, now that I'm stuck in a dingy broom closet.' _I thought sarcastically as I buried my face in my hands.

I thought about the fight that I'd had with Blaise about an hour ago. I realized that it was a stupid thing to fight over compared to the fact that I was now locked in a broom closet, possibly outside the grounds of Hogwarts. If I never escape from here, I thought, that fight will have been the last time that I talked to Blaise. I wouldn't want to die here knowing that the last things that I'd said to a close friend- possibly my only one, seeing as everyone at Hogwarts hates me now because my parents were Death Eaters-were words of hate. I wouldn't want to leave this Earth leaving things unsaid, things undone. I was tired of being harsh to people, I realized. I was tired of it. It was draining to be mean to so many people because of things in the past that now won't ever change, like blood status, and what House they belonged in. _"Friends can come in the unlikeliest of places," _I remembered Carmen telling me in one of those rare instances when the two of us got along. "_So take advantage of those people who are kind to you. There are getting to be less and less people who will be kind to you, dude, considering that both of your parents were Death Eaters."_

And the whole reason why I'd ever got locked in this broom cupboard in the first place was probably because somebody hated me and wanted to get revenge on me, I realized. '_Maybe if I'd been more civil to people, maybe if I'd tried a little harder to be less of a prick, maybe then I wouldn't even be in here.' _I felt guilty as I thought more and more about all the people I'd hurt, all the people I'd bullied. Even though there never really is a good reason for being mean to someone, the reasons why I'd hurt all those people were stupid, petty things that they usually had no control over anyways. I thought back- had anyone I'd ever hated even done anything to me? No, they hadn't. They were being nice to me until they realized what a jerk I was, and then that's why they'd started trying to get back at me, and why they'd started to be mean to me, too.

For the first time in over a year, I felt the tears pricking at the back of my eyes fall out. I let myself cry. I was tired of holding back. I was tired of being an ass for no reason at all. I was tired of being lonely because no one in their right mind would want to be friends with someone who was always putting them down. And most of all, I was tired of myself. I wanted to change. I wanted to be nicer to people, because it _had_ to be easier than how I was treating people now. _'It really is sad,'_ I thought, _'That I had to get locked in a broom closet with no means of getting out to realize all this.'_


	9. Chapter Eight, Blindfolds and Brooms

**Chapter Eight, Clumsiness, Blindfolds, and Brooms**

**October 22, 1995**

**Carmen POV**

Now that I decided that it would be mean to try and get Malfoy in trouble, I was having second thoughts about the whole entire operation. Did that make it wrong to try and get back at Rice if I felt that it would be inappropriate to do the same to Malfoy? Herbology passed by quickly, and as soon as I was out of the room I found myself changing back to my old body. I ran to the bathroom, and waited for the potion to wear off completely. As I waited, I felt the guilt consume me. What a monster I was! How could I leave another human being to suffer like that, alone and confused? I was ashamed at what I'd done. This behavior is not acceptable for a Gryffindor girl.

When I felt that the potion had worn off, I exited the stall and faced myself in the mirror. My hair was brown and long, and my blue eyes were sparkling with tears at what I'd done. I was a sad sight, my hair disheveled, my eyes filled with tears, standing looking at myself in a mirror as I was wearing clothes that were way too big for me, wondering about who the hell I'd become in the past few hours. I felt guilty. Who did I think I was? I wasn't Harry Potter, who always had a good reason backing up his every action. I had pretty much no good reason to be doing what I was doing. It was wrong to take some of Fred and George's Polyjuice Potion and then attack Malfoy so that I could pretend to be him for a day. It was mean and spiteful. I was acting more like a sneaky Slytherin than a gracious Gryffindor. I was ashamed. I started to change back into my own clothes, but stopped halfway though. How long had I left Malfoy in the closet alone? What if something had happened to him? With my pants on my legs but Malfoy's sweater on my torso, I started running to the Slytherin Dungeons. In no time at all I found myself facing the door to the broom cupboard, which was still silent. It was nice to see that my enchantments were still working, but at the same time, I almost wished that they fell through so that I didn't have to tell Malfoy, face-to-face, that I was the one who attacked him and then used the potion to be him. I used the countercharm to unlock the door, and also lifted the 'Muffilato' spell. Then I twisted the handle.

If I was ever feeling guilty about locking Malfoy in a closet before now, I was even more so now. Never before in my life had I seen Draco Malfoy looking so vulnerable, so unguarded. For the first time in my life, I was seeing the _real_ Draco Malfoy. The real Malfoy was not cocky and arrogant and spiteful, no, the _real_ Malfoy was insecure and ashamed and alone, much like how I was feeling at the moment. He was sitting on an upturned bucket, his head in his hands, _crying_. I had never before in my life seen Draco Malfoy cry. The tears were spilling down from his eyes and splattering onto his shirt. When he looked up at me as the door opened, his eyes were tortured. It twisted something in my gut to look into his grey eyes, because I knew that I was the one who had caused this to happen. I was a monster. I was just as cruel as the Death Eaters had been when they locked their victims in a cellar with no food for days on end, torturing them for information if they needed it, and otherwise killing them like pigs in a slaughterhouse. I took a deep breath, preparing myself to apologize, because I'm sure that Malfoy was confused as to why I was wearing his robes, and also as to why he was locked in a broom cupboard. But before I could say anything, Malfoy took the words right out of my mouth.

"I'm sorry." He said hoarsely, his voice shaking terribly. He stood up and dusted himself off. _'What? _He's_ sorry?' _I thought. He continued. "I'm sorry for being such an ass to you all these years. I'm sorry that I was so mean to you that you felt the need to lock me up in a broom cupboard, because, quite honestly, I believe that I deserved it." He said as he dusted. _He_ was apologizing to _me?_ What did he do? _I _was the one who locked him in a bloody broom closet, for Merlin's sake! I should be the one apologizing!

I could feel my lower lip tremble, my hands begin to sweat, and that little lump at the back of my throat begin to grow. I'm pretty sure that at that moment, my face was screwed up into a grimace as I tried to hold back tears. I was thankful that he wasn't looking, because I didn't want him to see me cry.

"Malfoy…" I started to say, but stopped when I realized that I couldn't trust my voice to speak. I would start crying, and that was something that I'm sure that he did not want to see. I swallowed, and tried again. "Malfoy, _I_ locked _you_ in the broom closet. _I_ should be the one apologizing. _You_ did nothing wrong here."

"No. You probably wouldn't've locked me in a broom closet if I wasn't such an ass." He said sincerely. Then he hugged me. As much as I liked the feeling of his arms around me, I was so screwed up. He was suppose to be mad at me! He was supposed to be yelling at me! I should be the one trying to console him! What was going on here! And most of all, his embrace shouldn't feel so _good_. I wasn't supposed to like the feeling of being in his arms. We were sworn enemies! The whole reason why he was stuck with me as a partner was _because_ we hated each other! This debacle was going the wrong way! I stood there numbly, waiting for him to let me go. I felt something brush my forehead. Fingers? Lips? I didn't know. I felt uncomfortable. This was going the wrong way, and I didn't like it at all. I stepped back. He looked hurt that I'd broken the embrace, like he actually cared whether or not I forgave him.

"Malfoy. You don't understand. I locked you in a bloody broom closet. I left you there for over an hour, wondering where the hell you were and why someone would do this to you! You should be so mad at me! You should hate me! And least of all, you shouldn't be apologizing to me!" I said, feeling slightly panicked. He tried to say something, but I cut him off.

"No. Don't apologize to me. You did nothing wrong! I was the one who Stunned you, and I took you to this broom closet and locked you up! I took your clothes and your wand and pretended to be you for the last hour! I took a hair off your head and put it in a Polyjuice Potion, and then I _was_ you. I was planning on getting you in as much detentions as I could, but then I felt guilty and didn't do anything. I _violated_ you! I acted just as b-bad… j-just as bad as a… as a _Death Eater_." I finished, shuddering uncontrollably and slumping back against the wall. I could feel the vibrations through the floor as he took a step towards me. "I'm s-so sorry, D-Draco. So sorry. I am s-such a monster, and there's n-no excuse for what I did to you. Y-You have every right to hate me f-forever." I stumbled over my words because I was trying to get them out so fast. The fact that I was quivering like a leaf in the middle of a hurricane probably didn't help matters, either.

"Shh. Shh. It's all right. I'm not mad at you. Personally, I've always wanted to try Polyjuice Potion. It's a cool concept, being someone else for the moment." He said softly me as he wrapped his arms around me again. Wait. Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin Pureblood prince, who was known for being cruel to others, was _comforting_ me. It was beyond unsettling. I looked up at him, searching his steel grey eyes for any sign of anger or disgust, but found none. All I could see in his pretty eyes were concern for me. He probably thought I was a little crazy. Draco gently wiped away the tears on my face with a long, pale finger.

"I'm not mad at you, Carmen." He said softly, but firmly. "While I was in that closet, I realized some things. I realized that I was so mean to everybody around me for no reason at all. I knew that I would be lucky to even have a few friends after the War was over because people knew who I was, and who my parents were, and how they were involved in the War. The few people who'd actually been nice to me didn't want to be that way anymore because I was acting like such a bitter prick. I'm tired of being a jerk. I just want to have a good time here while I can, because in a few years, I won't be coming back. I'll be getting a job, and when it seems like everything's going wrong, I want to have some good memories to reflect on."

I blinked. Wow. That was deep. I don't even think I could come up with something more deep than that. He wasn't mad at me. He wasn't mad. Relief washed through me. That was what I was worried about, right? That was what I was just crying about, right? He wasn't mad at me.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled again as I handed him his wand and his bag. "I think I'm an ass, too."

He laughed a little. "I forgive you, Gray." Then he let go of all of me but one hand. He started tugging on it urgently, his eyes lit up with joy.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"I'm taking you somewhere." He said.

"But we have classes." I insisted. "We'll get in trouble for ditching."

"Screw the classes. It's not like History of Magic is very important, right? Binns probably won't even notice that we're gone." He said teasingly. I cracked a grin because I knew that he was right.

"Well… all right. But I want to know where you're taking me." I said.

"Nope." He said as he conjured a blindfold out of thin air. "Put this on."

I raised an eyebrow at him. He sighed impatiently and put the piece of cloth over my eyes.

"Dude!" I squealed. "Come on!"

"Come on? That's nasty, Gray. I hope that you don't think about that too much." He teased as he tugged me along slowly.

"You know that's not what I meant." I said. "Please don't run me into a wall or anything. I might just have to lock you in a broom closet again." I joked, mentally vowing to never to that or anything similar to another human being again.

"I'll try not to, Gray. But, you know, I guess you deserve a little payback." He said. I could tell that he was smirking just by the way that he said the sentence.

"Yeah. You'd be right about that." I agreed, holding on to his hand a lot more tightly. I had no idea where we were be now. All I knew was that we were still in the dungeons, because we hadn't gone up or down any stairs. "Will you _please_ tell me where you're taking me?" I asked impatiently.

"No. I won't talk to you if you keep asking questions." He said in a very Malfoy-ish way.

"Oh, that's okay. I can talk enough for two people. Want me to demonstrate?" I asked sweetly. Before he could answer, I continued. "I don't get what is wrong with you Slytherins. You think that threatening us Gryffindors with things like silence will get you what you want. What you don't realize is that that's exactly what we've wanted this whole time. Don't get me wrong, sometimes it's nice when you guys talk, because it makes you seem like you've actually got brains in there that are telling you how to respond. But then we realize what you're really saying and know that you guys are stupid." I was trying to irritate Draco now, because I felt slightly threatened by him being silent. I actually didn't mind it when he talked. That rubbish about Slytherin being stupid was just said to provoke a response out of him. Yet he remained silent, still pulling me by the hand gently, as thought he hadn't heard anything. I continued.

"Even in Quidditch you guys act dense. I mean, the strategies that you guys use are just so obvious! We all know- at least when Gryffindor is playing Slytherin- that Slytherin will go for the most violent, aggressive plays. It isn't a bad thing to try once, but it gets just so predictable if you use those kinds of tactics _every time you play us_. And it also always never works for you because Gryffindor uses more practical tactics. We don't dive right for the Quaffle when a Slytherin player has it, but what we do is distract the player so he drops it into another Gryffindor player's waiting arms. We don't go for the Quaffle, we go for the player." I continued on and on for what seemed like at least ten minutes about various styles of play in Quidditch until Malfoy abruptly placed a hand over my mouth, effectively silencing me.

"You have proven your point. I think my ears are bleeding." He said. I thought that it sounded like he was trying to hold back laughter.

"Are we there yet?" I asked him, much like how a young child would ask their parent in the middle of a long car ride. He ignored me, and continued.

"It's funny that you'd start to talk about Quidditch, actually." He said as he gingerly pulled the blindfold off my face. I blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the sudden light. Once I could see clearly, I noticed that we were still in the dungeons, due to the stone walls and torches of light on the walls. The room was filled with brooms, from the floor to the ceiling, stacked neatly on shelves and hung on the walls. I inhaled sharply. I absolutely loved Quidditch; I was going to try out of the position of Chaser on the Gryffindor team. The tryouts would take place the day after the Halloween Ball, which is a stupid idea, in my opinion, because the ball will certainly go until late in the night and possibly in the wee hours of the morning. We would be exhausted and may not perform to the best of our abilities due to the fact. I was working on persuading Harry to change the date, but he didn't want to push it back any further, because he thought that we would lose too much practicing time. Anyway. When I walked into that room it was like discovering lost treasure. I loved Quidditch, so whenever I find things like random broom dumps such as this one, I get excited.

"Wow. What is this place?" I asked breathlessly as I walked over to examine the brooms stacked on the shelf nearest to me. Most were just older models from the Nimbus company from the seventies and eighties -good but not good enough to ride in a match- with the occasional pre-historic broom thrown into the mix, like a Cleansweep One or a Comet 140, which were produced in the 1930's and could actually go for a small sum of money.

"I don't really know. A random broom dump." Offered Draco nonchalantly from behind me, as though unaffected by my awe-struck state.

"How did you find it?" I said, curious. In my over four years at Hogwarts, I had never heard of such a place as this.

"Well, last year, I liked to pull pranks on Filch." He started.

"You still like to play pranks on Filch." I interjected. He grinned at me and moved over to stand next to me. He put his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, well…" He said in the same nonchalant manner that he'd used a few seconds ago.

"Go on." I prodded him in the side as he stood next to me.

"So, I played a prank on Filch, but he caught me Red-Handed as I was leaving his office. I put a Niffler in there; they're really great for destroying stuff. He caught me just as I was leaving, and he got really mad. His face got all blotchy and red; it was quite scary. So I started to run away from him. I wanted to get back to the Common Room and lock him out, because he's not allowed in the Common Rooms. But I had to change my plan because Snape was in the hallway near the entrance. Knew that he would yell at me for running in the hallways or something equally stupid, so I kept on going straight. So I was running willy-nilly down the hallway, and I saw the door to this place ajar. I slipped inside and hid behind some brooms. Filch wheezed on by. He didn't even stop and look in when he passed. It was like he couldn't see it." Malfoy recalled as he ran his fingers along the broom handles gently. There was a brief pause in which I absorbed all this information. Then I spoke up.

"That's odd. You said it was like Filch couldn't see it when he ran by. Do you think that he was just being careless and didn't open the door because he thought you'd go straight ahead? Or did he really _not_ see the door?" I wondered aloud. Draco perked an eyebrow at me.

"What are you getting at?" He asked, now interested.

"Well, Hogwarts has a Room of Requirement. I know that this isn't that room, though, because it's located on the Fifth Floor, and we're in the dungeons right now. And I've never heard anyone talking about a room filled to the top with brooms like this room. I would know, because I've been obsessed with Quidditch since I was eleven. Whenever I talk with boys, its about Quidditch. And Fred and George Weasley-they know everything about Hogwarts there is to know. They would have told people of they stumbled across somewhere like this." I took a deep breath and let the pieces fall into place in my mind.

"What were you thinking of as you were running by? Escape? A place to hide? I know it might be a stretch, but maybe this room has the same kind of concept as the Come-and-Go Room." I said as I examined more and more brooms. I could hear Draco move away from me, to the other side of the smallish room to check out the brooms over there.

"Well, I wasn't thinking of anything, really. Nothing that I can distinctly remember. Are you implying that this room shows itself to certain people, but not to others?" He asked, now curious.

"Maybe. I don't really know. You say that youweren't thinking of Quidditch or brooms or anything like that as you approached the door, so I'm guessing that it isn't similar the Room of Requirement, at least in that aspect. This room has been around since at least the 1930's, though, probably even older than that." I said, trying to think like Hermione would. I made a mental note to tell her about this room when I decided to go back to class.

"Really? That's cool. What if…" Draco trailed off, lost in thought.

"What if _what_?" I asked him, curious to know what he was thinking. He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Well… what if this room only reveals itself to people who play Quidditch, or only to people who have played the sport for a while?" He said uncertainly.

"Good point. That's quite a good theory, actually." I complimented him.

"Don't sound so shocked." He joked from across the room. "I can have my moments of brilliancy." I chuckled. I drew in a breath as my eyes landed on a broom. _'Could it really be…?'_

"Draco! Come over here and check this out!" I said excitedly. No… a broom this rare couldn't _possibly_ be at Hogwarts. Draco was at my side in an instant.

"What is it?" He said. I pointed to the broom that was laying against the wall. He gasped like I did.

"No way. Is that really…?" He said as he gently pulled the broom away from the wall. The handle glimmered slightly as it caught the light from the candles floating above. It read: **Infinity Broom**. Then in smaller script below, **by Universal Brooms Ltd. **

The Universal Broom company is recognized for being the creators of the modern day broom. Beforehand, a broom used for cleaning was simply enhanced with a levitating and accelerating charm. But the UBL added brakes and multiple safety features that the homemade models did not include. They were an instant hit back when they first came out, which was in the mid-1800's. Since then, many of the original models have either been ruined or misplaced, so now there are very few in existence. It was exciting to find one because they were so rare, and also because when they were built, they were built to last. It probably still could fly.

"Yes. Yes it is! Omigod! _Dude_!" I squealed excitedly, pointing crazily at the broom and jumping up and down.

"Merlin's beard! I can't believe that we found one!" Draco cheered. He started doing a little victory dance that was kind of funny to watch, but at the same time, kind of cute. I did my own little dance too, and pretty soon we were twirling each other around and bumping hips like we were on a dance show. I was laughing harder than I'd laughed in at least a year. I noticed how light on his feet he was, and how good at dancing he was. Suddenly my foot caught on his and I was falling down. But before I could hit the ground, Draco had caught me, his arms wrapped firmly around my waist. I felt a tingling sensation where his arms and hands touched me, and I liked it. He steadied me and brushed a few wavy brown strands out of my face. His hands lingered a little too long on my waist, and I liked that, too. We had quieted our laughter, but when a random snort ripped up my nose, we both started laughing again. In a few minutes, we quieted down.

"Sorry I fell on you." I said, a ghost of laughter still in my voice.

"It's okay. I caught you, though. You should thank me for that." He said, a teasing note in his voice.

"Thanks for catching me, then." I said, rolling my eyes. There was a short pause.

"What'll we do with the broom?" Draco asked, pointing to the Infiniti. I shrugged.

"I dunno. What do you think we should do with it?" I reprised.

"Well, it _is_ a piece of history. We could turn it in to Dumbledore." He suggested. Then a wicked gleam lit up his eyes. I immediately felt reluctant to do whatever he was about to suggest. "Or we could take it out for a spin first."

"I dunno, Draco. It _is_ really old. I wouldn't want to break it. And plus, do you think that the broom can even get up off the ground?" I said hesitantly.

"Well, there's only one way to find out, is there?" He grinned. I groaned. There was a long pause in which I thought it over. I would hate to be responsible for damaging such a rare and amazing piece of wizarding history. But at the same time… how _cool_ would it be to ride one of those brooms?

"All right. I'll ride it. But there's one condition. If the thing gets broken, it's all on you. Can you live with knowing that you destroyed a rare and valuable piece of wizarding history?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"Absolutely. The thing that I wouldn't be able to live with is breaking a piece of wizarding history without riding it first." I laughed and rolled my eyes. Typical Malfoy. Only thinking of himself.

"Come on! What're you waiting for? Let's go ride this broom!" He said excitedly as he grabbed my hand. Without realizing it, I'd just spent at least a half hour with Draco Malfoy and didn't get into a single fight with him. How shocking.

**I'd like to thank my one and only reviewer, **_**xXMizz Alec VolturiXx**_**. You get a gold star for being such a good little reviewer! :D Hopefully you'll tell your friends to check the story out so that you won't be the only reviewer forever! ****J**


	10. Chapter Nine, Patrolling with Malfoy

**Chapter Nine, Patrolling with Malfoy**

**October 24, 1995**

**Carmen POV**

Going to classes today was sure to prove a challenge. I had already slept fifteen minutes longer that I was supposed to, and I was running just to get to the Great Hall on time so that I could shove some sort of food down my throat before my first two classes. I made a mental note to thank Hermione for waking me up. I had Care of Magical Creatures as my first class of the day, which was fine, because Hagrid was a very laid back teacher, and he wouldn't really be pressuring us to do much actual work, if you get my drift. I still didn't want to go to classes, though. I had just started my cycle last night, and all I wanted to do was sleep. _'At least I didn't get it during the Ball.'_ I reminded myself. That was much worse than going to classes tired. I clopped down the marble staircase and barreled into the Great Hall, where thankfully, food was still on the plates. I busted over to the Gryffindor table and sat down between Hermione and Harry.

"Why are you so late? What happened?" Harry asked me as I aggressively spread butter on my toast. I growled softly as I ignored him and turned to Hermione.

"I'd like to thank you for waking me up on time." I hissed at her. A part of me felt guilty for snapping at her, but the PMS-dominated part of my brain told the other side to shut up and keep spreading butter on the toast. Hermione's face fell a little, but she knew me well enough hat the only time that I'd ever snap at her like that was if it was that certain time of month.

"Sorry, Carmen. You just looked so peaceful. You're really kind of cute when you sleep." She said, trying to crack a joke over the tense atmosphere. I grimaced. That was _not_ the kind of thing I wanted to talk about in front of a bunch of Gryffindor guys.

"Yeah, well." I said, sighing. It wasn't worth fighting over something silly as waking up in the morning. I didn't even want to go to classes, anyways. So who was I to be mad at her? It wasn't her responsibility to wake me up. It was mine.

See? I'm not a total bitch when I'm having my period. I still have a conscience.

I shoved the toast in my mouth. I didn't want to really talk to anyone today. Like I said before, I just wanted to sleep. I remembered the days before I had gotten my first period wistfully. PMS sucks.

"Carmen, walk with me?" A voice said from behind me. It was Malfoy. He seemed like he was in a good mood today. I growled again as I stood up from my seat and grabbed my bag, mouth still full of toast. I waved half-heartedly at my Gryffindor Gang as I followed him out of the Great Hall.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" I asked him. If I made it through the day without a meltdown, it would be a miracle.

"Good morning to you, too. You don't seem very chipper today." He said cheerily, unfazed by my frosty attitude. I remained silent. I didn't want to say or do something that I would regret later in my PMS state of mind. He started to speak again after the silence had stretched between us for a time that he deemed too long.

"So, I just wanted to let you know that I got the two of us tickets to the Ball next week." He said as we slowed, approaching the Lake. I plopped down on the dewy grass, not caring whether I got wet on the bum or not. He sat down next to me. I could feel his eyes on my face as I stared straight ahead, not making any eye-contact with him at all.

"Okay." I said absent-mindedly. Then I realized what he said. "Wait, why'd you get _the two of us _tickets?" I asked him.

"Well, Blaise said that the tickets were free if you went with your partner. So, I figured that you wouldn't mind if we went together." He said calmly. I finally met his eyes, with an incredulous look on my face.

"You wouldn't mind going with me?" I said, astounded. I thought that he hated my guts. However, he had been a lot nicer to me recently…

"I don't mind. It's not like there's anyone that I particularly _want_ to go with, anyways." He paused, almost as if unsure to continue or stop. He looked out at the water. "And, you are pretty and nice to me, and I wouldn't mind hanging out with you for a night. You're loads better than Pansy Parkinson, if I might be so bold." He cleared his throat, looking slightly embarrassed as he spoke. But his voice was confident. I felt myself blushing and looking away at his flattering words. I was definitely going to the Ball with him now.

"Thanks." I said. "I'll go with you. I wouldn't mind hanging with you for a night, either." I said. '_Oh, what the heck, I'm already blushing. It won't make a difference if it gets a little bit worse.' _I thought. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Draco grin.

"Cool." He said. I grinned, because the way that he said sounded weird. It sounds weird when a British person says 'cool' or 'whatever', because I thought those phrases were so… American. It sounded foreign on his tongue.

"See you in Defense Against the Dark Arts." I said as I stood up to leave. I walked away feeling a tiny bit more cheerful than I had been feeling when I walked out of the Great Hall, trying to restrain myself from looking back at Malfoy.

All I have to say is TGIF. Thank God it's Friday. Today was a bad day. I was tired and crabby all day, except for that little moment out at the Lake with Draco. My classes seemed like an eternity each, and all of my free periods were one in the blink of an eye. By dinnertime I was about ready to either fall asleep in my soup or have a meltdown.

"Hey, Carmen?" I whirled around in my seat. It was Hermione. She was biting her lip in nervousness.

"What is it?" I said.

"Well… I have to do something tonight, something important, and I can't do my patrolling because I won't be around until about three A.M. So, I wanted to know if you could partol tonight? It would be a huge favor." Hermione pleaded.

"Yeah. I'll do it. Who am I patrolling with and where?" I asked.

"You're patrolling with Malfoy. He'll know where to go." She said, sounding relieved. I furrowed my brows. She never skipped out on Prefect duties, and the fact that she was supposed to go with Malfoy and didn't want to go made the whole thing more suspicious.

"Are you asking me to go so you won't have to go with Malfoy?" I interrogated. She sighed, and hung her head a little.

"Yes, yes. I _really_ don't like him, Carmen. And you're the only Gryffindor who gets along with him. Please, please, will you do me this favor? I'll owe you one." Hermione pleaded with me, sounding utterly desperate. I sighed.

"Fine. I already said yes, anyhow." I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest. Hermione squeaked with delight- I'd never heard her do that before- and hugged me briefly.

"You're the best, Carmen Gray!" She said as she scurried off with Ron and Harry to Merlin-knows-where. I watched Harry's back as he retreated. I needed to talk to him. I was getting a hunch about what was gong on, and I didn't like it one bit. I was starting to believe that there was something going on- something bad. Tonight wasn't the first time that I'd watched their retreating backs, wondering what they were up to.

I tapped my foot impatiently against the stone floor as I waited in the Prefect's Common Room. It was a quarter to eight and Malfoy _still_ hadn't showed up. He was supposed to be here at seven. Where the hell was he? I sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that evening and glared at a painting of a witch, brewing some kind of concoction in a cauldron. She looked up and saw my death-ray glare. She raised an eyebrow.

"What're you glarin' at us for, lassie?" She said in a squeaky Scottish accent. I blinked.

"Oh. Um, sorry. I wasn't glaring _at_ you, I just… happened to be glaring… at you." I said sheepishly. The witch narrowed her eyes.

"Right." She said uneasily. She went back to brewing her potion, occasionally shooting nasty looks at me. I started picking at my nails impatiently.

"Carmen? What're you doing here? You aren't a prefect." A voice said from behind me. I turned to see Ernie Macmillan standing uncertainly in a doorway.

"Oh, hi, Ernie. Hermione had to do something tonight, so she told me to take her rounds. Unfortunately, I can't find where my partner is." I explained. Ernie's shoulders relaxed some and he smiled.

"Who'se your partner? I'll help you find them." Ernie said helpfully.

"Malfoy." I said, aggravated. Just the mere mention of his name made me angry.

"Oh. Now I see why Hermione skipped out on her duties. No one like doing rounds with him." Ernie said, grimacing. "Come on, we'll track him down."

"Thanks." I said as I followed him out of the Prefect's Common Room and into the hallway.

"Honestly, I'm surprised that he didn't show up. Usually he's always on time for his rounds. He may be an ass, but he's certainly not a slacker, at least, from my observations of him." Ernie said as he walked briskly from hallway to hallway, poking our heads into empty classrooms and broom closets.

"Really? I never would've guessed." I said incredulously.

"I know, right? He also is getting decent grades- I hear he's like 5th best in our class." Ernie continued.

"Really? Wow." I said, raising my eyebrows. I didn't know that.

"Yeah. I also hear that he's behind you and Hermione." He said as he winked at me. I grinned.

"This is also news to me." I said, laughing. Ernie was such a flirt, but I didn't mind, he was a nice guy. We poked our heads into what seemed like the thousandth classroom. I scanned my eyes quickly over the things in the room. '_Desk, chair, bookshelf, chalkboard, blonde boy, desk- wait, BLONDE BOY?'_ I thought, doing a double take.

"Malfoy, what're you doing in here?" I asked him. He looked up. Blinked.

"Um… I was just… sitting here. Why? Do you need me for something?" He said, obviously confused and uncomfortable.

"You were supposed to go patrolling with me-I mean, Hermione- tonight!" I said, rolling my eyes. He looked shoched.

"Oh, crap, really?" He said. "I completely forgot. Crap, Granger'll be pissed." He fretted.

"She won't be mad at you." I said. He looked up at me incredulously.

"Really?" He said mockingly. "Have you ever met Granger? She is so uptight that I can't skip one thing in my patrolling route, or she throws a hissy. And I thought that you two were close friends."

"We _are_ close, Malfoy." I snapped. "She's not going to be mad at you because she couldn't patrol tonight and she asked me to go in her place. I won't tell her that you forgot. But we need to get a move on if we want to be done by midnight." His face relaxed some, knowing that Hermione wouldn't chew his head off for not patrolling.

"Thanks, Carmen." He said gratefully. Then, noticing Ernie standing in the doorway awkwardly, he nodded at him. "You too, Ernie. I'm assuming that you helped her find me?"

"Yeah." Ernie said, very flustered. A Slytherin like him had never been so civil to him before, so it was a shock that Malfoy was being so polite. I grinned faintly at their awkward exchange. Malfoy was learning to be a little bit nicer, and I liked it.

"C'mon, Malfoy, let's go. See you, Ernie!" I said cheerfully as I dragged Malfoy out of the classroom, leaving Ernie standing there, dumbfounded. He waved, his face half smiling and half frowning. I led Draco down the hallway, still pulling him along by the arm.

"I do know how to walk, Gray. You don't have to pull on me like that." Draco said as he wriggled his hand out of my grasp.

"Oh. Uh, sorry." I said awkwardly. There was a moment of silence.

"Hermione said that you knew where to go?" I asked him as we walked along down the halls.

"Yeah. Just follow me. We really have to just walk down the halls and make sure that no one's out of bed. We don't have to check classrooms or anything- well, at least, I don't want to. Too much effort." He said.

" 'Too much effort'? Oh, Draco, you would say that." I said as I laughed at him. He smirked at me.

"Well, do you want to check every single classroom and broom closet in the entire castle?" He sneered.

"No." I said sheepishly. That would take way too long. We probably wouldn't be done by morning.

"Then you should be fine with putting in a little less effort." He said. I sighed. This was going to be a long night.


	11. Chapter Ten, Friend?

**Chapter 10, Friend?**

**October 24, 1995**

**Carmen POV**

Three hours after Ernie and I tracked down Malfoy found me tired and practically being carried through the halls of Hogwarts as we tried to complete our rounds.

"Carmen. Come on." Draco snapped, irritated. He was dragging me along by the hand because I was unwilling to move on my own. "Merlin, it's only been three hours. How are you so tired already?" He fumed. I blinked a few times, trying to will myself out of partial consciousness. The thing was, every time I blinked, I didn't want to open my eyes again. I sighed loudly as I forced my feet to trod on ahead with Draco.

"Sorry." I mumbled as I walked along beside him. I realized that I was being less that helpful. He sighed and ran a hand through his platinum blonde hair. It looked so soft… Wait! What the heck? Why was I fantasizing about Malfoy? Shut up brain. _'Shut up shut up shut up shut up…'_

" 'S all right. I guess it's not really your fault. You aren't usually up at 11 o'clock. I guess I was a little tired when I first started doing this." Malfoy said begrudgingly.

"Mmm." I said absentmindedly. I was still thinking about the way that he ran his hand through his hair. _'Shut up shut up shut up…'_

Before I knew it, my feet had started to drag and I was lagging behind Malfoy again. He turned around and crossed his arms over his chest. He was impatiently tapping his foot, waiting for me to catch up to him. I didn't notice him standing there in front of me, so I smacked right into him. I lost my balance, but before I could fall over, Malfoy had caught me. His hands on my shoulders were steadying me.

"Honestly, Carmen. You need to wake up." He said, half laughing and half chastising.

"Mmm. Sorry." I mumbled, not paying much attention. Before I tell you what happened next, please understand that I was very very _very_ tired and totally not myself because of PMS and exhaustion. Had I been in my right mind, what happened next would not have happened. But it did. So don't hate me.

Some part of my brain noticed how close Draco was standing to me, and how he was holding my shoulders tightly. Eyelids drooping, I leaned into him and rested my head on his chest. Wrapping my arms around his waist to secure him there, I closed my eyes and started to drift off. He was comfy.

**Draco POV**

Wow. If I'd known that Carmen would have been this tired patrolling with me, I would've just told her to go back to her dormitory and sleep. She had been dragging her feet and drooping her eyelids for over an hour, and as funny as it was, I had a job that I needed to do, and she was making the whole procedure take much longer. I noticed her lagging some twenty paces behind me. I sighed and turned around. Crossing my arms over my chest, I waited impatiently for her to catch up to me, tapping my foot. Her eyes were almost closed as she dragged her feet forward slowly. I guess she was so tired that she wasn't paying any attention to he surroundings, because she didn't stop in front of me. She bumped into me. I blinked in shock. Then I noticed that she was about to fall. I caught her and steadied her, my hands on her shoulders.

"Honestly, Carmen. You need to wake up." I said. It was funny that she was so tired, but at the same time, it was annoying because I needed to finish patrolling and she was dragging it out.

"Mmm. Sorry." She said, her words slurred. Before I could comprehend what was happening, she had laid her head on my chest and wound her arms around me. I was completely frozen for a few seconds. Then I pried her arms off of me and backed away from her. She opened her eyes, looking lost for a moment. Then she realized what she'd done.

"Omigod, I'm so sorry-" She started.

"What do you think you're doing-?" I asked, irritated and feeling awkward.

"I was just so tired-" She tried.

"I'm not a pillow-" I protested.

"I know you're not a pillow, Draco, where would I get that impression?"

"I don't know! Maybe you thought it up while you were sleeping on me-"

"I wasn't sleeping on you!"

"Yes you were!"

"No, I wasn't completely asleep yet-"

"You were awfully close to it!"

"I've had a crappy day, okay? I'm really sorry that I almost fell asleep on you, truly, I am, but I'm not feeling like myself today." She stopped. I analyzed her with my cold grey eyes. There was a long pause. Carmen's eyes, which had been angry and defensive, softened. She now looked guilty.

"I'm so sorry. I really don't know what got into me back there, but I know that I am not myself tonight. I am so sorry." She said. By now she had a crimson blush from her neck to her hairline. She looked much more awake than she had been in an hour. I sighed and looked away. _'Well, this is awkward.' _Carmen didn't move an inch.

"Come on. Now that you're awake, we have to try and finish my rounds." I said, my voice strained, as I motioned with my arm for her to follow me. I hear her sigh with relief as she walked towards me, keeping her distance.

**Carmen POV **

**October 27, 1995**

It had been three days since the incident during Malfoy's rounds. I was too embarrassed to try and properly apologize to him, and whenever I saw him, I made up some excuse to get me away from him. I was so ashamed. He must have felt so awkward. I mean, I bloody used him as a pillow! I groaned and buried my face in my homework. I was sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room after dinner, trying to get as much homework done as I could before I got too tired to focus. Several Gryffindors looked up at me curiously, then turned away. Harry and Ron were doing the same thing on wither side of me, and they both looked over at me at the same time.

"Um, Carmen? Is something bothering you? You've been doing that about every five minutes." Ron asked me cautiously. I sat up and brushed my hair out of my face.

"Sorry. I've probably been annoying you two, haven't I?" I said guiltily. They both nodded. I groaned again. Hermione looked up from a piece of parchment that the had been scribbling furiously.

"Sorry." I mumbled to her. She sighed, rolled her eyes, and waved me off all at once.

"Good job avoiding the question." Harry whispered to me, trying to not distract the other people in the common room. I frowned.

"All right. Something is bothering me. But if I tell you two, I want it to be kept a secret. Hush-hush. Top secret information. Understand?" I said reluctantly. They looked at each other briefly, then Harry nodded.

"Okay… well, you know how I had to do rounds for Hermione the other night?" I asked.

"Yeah." Ron said, confused.

"Her rounds were with Malfoy. And apparently, she has to do rounds until midnight when she has him as a partner. So, you all know how early I'm in bed every night."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, we are all aware that you go to bed before the first years." I smacked his arm, and he winced slightly. I continued. "I was really tired around ten. So, I was half-asleep as I was doing the rounds. I ran into him because I wasn't watching where I was going. He caught me and then I sorta… fell asleep… on him." I finished with my head in my hands, a blush spreading over my cheeks. There was a moment of silence before Harry and Ron started cracking up. My face fell. This was not the reaction I had been hoping for. They were clutching their sides and wiping tears away from their eyes after about two minutes of this obnoxious laughter, and I was crying, too, but not from laughter. By now, every eye in the common room was fixed on the three of us. Harry and Ron practically peeing their pants with laughter, and me, sitting between them, blushing so hard that I was beginning to feel faint.

"Guys! Shut up!" I said, half laughing and half crying. I didn't like the way that the other Gryffindors were glaring at me. I never liked being the focus of attention, and it was really bothering me.

"Guys. Stop it." I hissed at them, my voice breaking. Harry, who had always understood me better than my own family, straightened and wiped a tear out of his eye, still shaking from silent laughter. Then he looked at me, and the look on my face wiped his smile right off.

"Sorry, Carmen. I think we took that a little too far, Ron." He said uneasily as he poked Ron in the ribs to stop him from laughing. Ron sat up, exhaled loudly to calm himself down, and then swallowed.

"Sorry, Carmen. We didn't mean to make you cry." He said guiltily. On any other day and in any other situation, I would have argued the fact that I was crying. But today I was just too upset to care.

" 'S all right." I mumbled as I looked out the window. I watched the rain pour down out of the sky like water shooting out of a watering can.

"So, how did the Ferret react to that?" Ron asked. I sighed.

"Well, I was still sort of napping on him, so I was unaware, but I think he backed away. I just noticed that he was away from me and then I realized that I had been sleeping on him. I tried to apologize, but he kept cutting me off. I think he felt really embarrassed." I said as I played with my fingers in my lap. Harry frowned.

"What's up, Harry?" I asked him. The frown deepened.

"I think that you're getting too close to Malfoy. I don't like it. Actually, I don't like _him_." Harry said seriously. My brows furrowed.

"Harry… you have to understand. He's… changed. He's not the same Ferret that he was in fourth year. He's gotten kinder, Harry, he really has. I know that he's still a Slytherin and I know that his parents were big supporters of Voldemort, but that doesn't define who he is on the inside. He made a lot of bad choices when he was younger, and I think that now he's realizing his mistakes. He wants to be a better person. Wait, I take that back. Maybe he doesn't want to be a better person, but he wants to be less of an ass." I rambled. Harry and Ron sighed.

"Carmen… I know that you really don't want to hear this, but I wouldn't believe him if I was you. I don't think that someone like him could ever change." Harry said.

"Yeah, mate. I mean, is he really changed? I agree with Harry. Someone like Malfoy could never change." Out of nowhere, I suddenly felt an explosion of anger seep into my veins.

"You're only saying that because you don't like him. Have you taken the time to get to know the _real_ Malfoy? Have you ever seen anything but a Slytherin and Death Eater when you look at him? No. You've judged him, Harry, and you too, Ron, and no matter how much good he does, all you will ever see is the shell of who he used to be. All you'll ever see is someone who he isn't. If anyone here will never change, it's you two! _Not_ him!" I erupted at them. Harry blinked and Ron started to turn as red as his hair. But before they could retort, I grabbed my bag and book and stormed out of the room.

I pushed open the portrait hole with much more force than necessary and slammed it shut behind me. "Oh, my! Be careful, young lady! I am very old, you know!" The Fat Lady screamed at me. I ignored her and blew down the hallways, not knowing or caring where I was going, stomping my feet along the way to my unknown destination.

Ten minutes and several staircases later, my anger had partly dissipated and I was in an unfamiliar wing of the castle. I exhaled loudly and ran a hand through my hair as I leaned against a wall. I blinked a few times as I slid to the ground. Laying my bag and book beside me, I thought _'What the hell am I doing?'_. thinking back, I realized that I'd completely blown up at two of my best friends. And worse still, I had blown up at them over Malfoy. _Malfoy_. And I was defending him. Wow. Why was I sticking up for him? Why did the fact that Harry and Ron didn't like Malfoy anger me so much? This wasn't new to me. I'd always known it, from the moment that I saw Harry set his eyes on Malfoy way back in first year. So why was I all of a sudden defending him as if he was a friend? He wasn't a friend… was he?


End file.
